So despite the events of the last week or so (which I will not even try to relate), I'd like to present some proof that we did indeed enjoy some high-quality family time amidst the chaos...
(Note: There was an exceptional photo of Mom and Dad cutting our Christmas ham with a hacksaw, but I decided to refrain from posting that. Just so you know.)
Archive for 2007
Seems I haven't had much to say over the last week or two. That, or I merely haven't had time to sit and write anything. Shocker. So here's a recap on the most recent bit of life...
I guess I discovered in college that my field of work would be more stressful than the average desk job. Cheery demands of 'I need this now!'and deadline after deadline have greeted me each morning as of late. But, if you know me at all, you know I thrive on such hecticness. So here's to casino advertising, marketing newsletters, and grocery store paraphanalia.
The running schedule is getting me up way too early and making me aim for a senior citizen's bedtime! Too bad Kathleen and Amber keep me up watching Alias several times a week. So addicting! Thankfully, training is going well, and I again have some great encouragement and advice along the way. Despite the balancing act of activities, Austin is looming nearer. 8 weeks from race weekend!
It is, however, time for a break. So to Canyon I fly, though only for a quick trip. 4 days doesn't seem like much, but then, it never does. The time will no doubt be filled with Nickson adventure. Always to be expected.
Hope your holiday time is wonderful. Remember that we are indeed very blessed people!
Our false self demands a formula before we'll engage; we want a guarantee of success. But there comes a time in life when you've got to break away from all that and head off into the unknown with God. This is a vital part of our journey and if we balk here, the journey ends. ~John Eldredge
*a place to go home to, even if it is Canyon, Texas; there are just certain things you can count on to never change
*family: "craziness is our consistency"; never a dull moment, especially with the little tyke and the germans!
*27 years of marriage for my parents; though you would have to ask them, it seems to me that their love for each other only grows stronger each day despite the storms that are thrown their way
*after countless tests and visits to multiple doctors, and having undergone 7 surgerys this year, Mom has conquered every step with more grace and strength than I could ever imagine having; her faith has never waivered and she is my hero in every way
*new experiences: those that scare us to death and cause great uncertainty, but those that teach, shape, and challenge us
*a good place in Dallas to return to: warmer climate, cooking with the roomies, a real job, church activities, holiday festivities, and on and on we go...
Psalm 105:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done."
I'm a little late in getting this up, but Mr. Wyatt Cody celebrated his 1 year birthday on Tuesday. We are so blessed to get to watch this little man as he grows! Happy Birthday W from your Aunt Gretch.
So as of Monday I am officially a full-time Graphic Designer at Vertis Communications in Irving. Yes! A tough decision for sure, but one that I continue to feel good about. There is a great team of people there, about 8 Creatives, and though I'm by far the youngest (at least by 10 years or so!), I have high hopes of this being a great start towards some consistency in life. And we all know I needed that! So despite sitting through a few ridiculous meetings/orientation, the week is off to a good start. Have been working on casino mailers and sock packaging as of late. That's right, they give me the good stuff... The drive is a bit rough, but that's part of it. I did get a new chair though and am currently seeking fun things to decorate my cube with. Everyone else has toys. I think I have those Gummi Bears laying around here somewhere...
My desire for God fades and grows, but His desire for me is constant. -John Ortberg
Great retreat this weekend out in Lone Star, Texas. Out in the boonies, 2ish hours east of here. Past that, I have no idea where we were! But you gotta love 78 people crowding around a campfire down by the lake, Bible Scattegories, and stars instead of high-rise buildings. Perhaps more on that later. Hope your weekend was blessed as mine was.
good friends
good phone calls
good hamburger and shoestring fries
good weather
good conversation
good atmosphere
good stories
good music
good evening
good run
good relaxing morning
good adventure
good soccer game
good roomies
good worship
good cookies
good Office episodes
good hammock time
good weekend
A solid 4.5 hours of work today. My timesheet just yelled in triumph over the success that it has attained over me yet again. But not to worry. As I was getting gas at the Race Trac in Irving this afternoon, I noticed a sign that they are hiring. And the Supermercado and Juarez Cafe are right across the street! Who would've thought I'd discover my calling so easily....
Note to self: Never go through a car wash if there's any chance the weatherstripping on your doors might be coming loose....
So we've been in our new apartment for about a month now, but I'm just now getting around to posting some pictures, mostly due to the fact that everything is just now in its rightful spot. Oh, well, life has been busy. Below are various pictures of the 'Cabin' as we like to call it, from Harrison, Kathleen's notorious cat, to my fish, Vincent (van Gogh), and the living room and kitchen. Then there's my favorite spot on the balcony and my room. These are for you, M. :)
So at lunch today, I pull up at a stoplight behind this guy in a pickup. Next to him is a guy in a smaller car, and I notice they are arguing through their windows. Of course I don't think much of it. It's Dallas and traffic is crazy as usual. People have road rage. But then, the yelling escalates and before I know it, the pickup guy reaches in his back seat, pulls out a box of pizza, and starts launching slices into the other guy's car. You just can't make stuff like this up...
...that I wonder why on earth I have a ski jacket in my closet and it's 105 degrees outside
...that I am reminded of the importance of your actions mirroring your words
...that I question way too many things for my own good
...that I decide to make breakfast a more important part of my day (and tomorrow, we'll have waffles!)
...that I can't always explain how I feel
...that I am so thankful for good roommates and people that go out of their way to help others
...that I do still hope for that 'happy ending'
...that I would like to go on a roadtrip
...that I regret having fear and uncertainty
...that I am excited about painting, painting, and more painting
...that I know where to turn for the answers when I have none
...that I understand how important boundaries are yet don't always know how to set them
...that I can't wait to see what a certain newphew of mine will grow up to be
...that I need to listen more
...that I miss old friends
...that in a few short moments, life can change dramatically, for better or for worse (no pun intended Katy!)
...that it kills me to sit at a desk all day doing nothing
...that I'm an incredibly confusing individual
...that an early evening run can solve a lot of stress and provide a much needed escape
...that the ways of the world are unfair and wrong
...that it only takes ice cream going on sale to get me excited
...that I discover that the back glass window of my car does indeed open separately from the back door (just push the button underneath)
...that life has a lot of ups and a lot of downs, but we get through it one way or the other...
Hmmm... just some random verses from a few songs all jumbled together... seems odd, but hey, I didn't write them. I just find them interesting...
And all these lines fall short of what I had in mind,
A failed attempt to capsulize a feeling,
So I just try, fail and try and try again,
Someday I swear I'm going to get it,
Because I'm convinced that giving in is the worst thing there is...
We'll get over it,
Sad, strong, safe, and sober,
We'll move forward
And know where we went wrong,
But you can't go home again,
You can't go home again...
Taken in context, It's not a bad thing,
But when you start to pick it apart,
It gets depressed, It's that sort of thing,
That makes you think too much, It's that sort of thing...
Hmmm... What has happened since Honduras....? Well, let me tell you....
*fun birthday weekend with the parents
*girl's overnight camping trip at a local state park
*a new freelance assignment in Irving that might have future potential
*an Acappella concert at PC
*working on and presenting a video to the congregation on our Honduras trip
*my first viewing of Goonies at Victory park
*packing up my apartment
What's to come?
*signing a new lease and moving next week
*a weekend in Abilene with Wyatt Cody and his parents
*an interest meeting/dinner for a Kenyan street ministry
*White Rock or not?
*a possible trip to the Gila
Sounds promising...
Before leaving for this trip, I finished reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. (A must read.) Much of what Shane has to say in his book coincides with thoughts I have after seeing so much poverty in Honduras. Below are two quotes from the book that really hit home to me. What are we doing to love our neighbors?
"Two guys were talking to each other, and one of them says he would like to ask God why he allows poverty, war, and suffering to exist in the world. And his friend says, 'Well, why don't you ask?' The fellow shakes his head and says he is scared. When asked why, he mutters, 'I'm scared God will ask me the same question, for when I think about it, I can hear God whispering to me, 'You tell me why we allow these things to exist. You are my body, my hands, my feet.'"
"God did not mess up and make too many people and not enough 'stuff'. Poverty was created not by God but by you and me, because we have not learned to love our neighbors as ourselves." 
One of the first things that hit all 65 of us travelers upon arrival in Teguc was how great the language barrier would be. I don't think any of us anticipated just how little we would recall from high school Spanish classes and how that would affect communication for the week. But in one of our first devos of the week, we were all reminded how far reaching a smile can be. For there are no boundaries with our tones of voice, our attitudes, and our actions. We soon discovered that much can be said without using words.
The children of Honduras were the highlight of the trip for me. We were able to visit an orphanage outside the city in the beautiful countryside and spend the afternoon with 86 boys who had been abandoned or given up by their parents. Also at the building site each day, many children came to help us and be around us as we worked on the house. They were so excited to play with bubbles, coloring books, and learn the game of 'Tag'. It was true joy to see their faces light up around total strangers that could barely ask their names.
Then there are the people at Baxter, the preaching institute where we stayed. Within an hour of our arrival, I had 'amigas en la cocina', the ladies who cooked for us all week. I was also able to meet a beautiful family (Sebastian, Rachel, and Hadid) who were students at Baxter. It was a great blessing to encounter these Christian brothers and sisters each day and be reminded that there are warriors for the Lord in such faraway places.
"Missions are less about the transportation of God from one place to another and more about the identification of a God who is already there. See God where others don't. And then you point him out. Be more like a tour guide. We don't take Jesus to people who don't have him, we just point out to the people a God who is already present in their midst." -Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis
And I believe that as we point out God to these people, we are able to glimpse His love just as much through them...
Probably easiest to divide the chronicles of our Honduras trip into a few parts...
The trip was amazing, what could I possibly say to describe it and still justify the journey? What words are there to relate one incredibly week in a third-world country? Try as I may, I could never do it justice, so I won't sum up the week by saying the trite 'it was an eye-opening experience'. For now I'll just say that I had a hard time coming back to the states and wanted to stay much longer, whether in Tegucigalpa or elsewhere. You can ask me more if you really want to know.
The majority of the trip was spent doing manual labor: house building, painting, ditch digging, and whatever else got thrown our way. Four days were spent rotating from site to site, with Friday being our day of completion.
Ok, doing a little backtracking for this post. A few weeks ago, I met Mom and Dad in Alburquerque and we packed in and climbed Wheeler Peak outside Red River. Had a great time enjoying some cooler temperatures and a chance to get away from everything for awhile. Jessie enjoyed the adventure as well, probably due to the fact that she didn't have a 30 lb. pack on her back and she got to wear her 'Doggles'. Here are some pics of the trip.
Hola! We all arrived back in Dallas from Teguciagalpa, Honduras at 3 am this morning. Wonderful trip in so many ways. It was hard to come home, and it is certainly much harder than I thought it would be to adjust back to our rich, spoiled American ways of living. I'm not a fan... Will try to update on here soon and get some pictures up. For now, I'm just trying to tackle the laundry....
So I had great intentions to update, post some pics from the week and all that good stuff, but here it is, 9:15 and I have to be at the church tomorrow morning at 6 am to leave for Honduras!!! Did I mention that I haven't packed yet? Yeah.... So I'll catch up when I get back and will have a multitude of stories to share. Blessings on the week to all...
The first week of Camp of the Hills 2007 has come and gone. And I wasn’t there for it. Granted, I woke up Monday morning thinking I had to be in the dining hall at 9 for breakfast, then off to clean the bathhouse before quiet time. And at 2 I was sitting at my desk thinking that vans of excited children were arriving right at that very moment. But I wasn’t there to run out the dining hall doors for “Game Time”. Tuesday morning I know there were kids putting on ropes course harnesses and throwing fishing hooks around, and Wednesday afternoon there was probably a lot of laughter in the swimming hole. Certainly Thursday night at 7 my thoughts drifted to the Crucifixion Re-enactment, and I know that tonight a feast of kool-aid and popcorn will be had, awards passed out, and hugs given. But I won’t be there for that either. And the vans will pick the kids up tomorrow morning, counselors will collapse and battle for the washer and dryer, and the cycle will continue for 7 more weeks of the summer. But for the first time since the summer of 2004, I won’t experience all that goes on in Girl's Cabin 3.
It’s brought on a strange feeling this week. I feel like I’m missing out on something big, yet at the same time feel such a relief that I’m not in the middle of it all. Silently rejoicing that I can go home and take a shower without wearing flip flops and don’t have to eat ham if I don’t want to, but also wishing I could see those kids that I got to know over the last 3 years and be there to braid hair for banquet night. It’s certainly been agreed upon that many of us would give an awful lot to have one more moment with those special kids. Cause you can’t get those things back. Life is like that. You have to soak up all the moments when you can and hold tight to those memories, cause you eventually have to be able to move on in life as things evolve and change. Not always a fun gig.
So for those of you at camp this summer, soak it up. Each moment. The good, the bad, and all the in-between. Each frustrating child, each meal that you wouldn't normally choose to eat, each day that you don't feel like swimming, each wasp fight, each moment of joy, each 'Get Right Church,' each off time, each potluck at Smithwick, each Bible Study, each morning you wake up sweating, and each night you lay down in the same state. Because each of those moments will not last. And I assure you, you'll want a few of them back someday no matter how long you currently long for the Saturday mornings.
And for those of you who have felt like me this week, we knew that camp would never be the same again, didn't we? I mean, we knew that it would never be "ours" again, that once we left, we would move on and others would take our places and it would all change? After all, it was different before we got there and ought to continue to grow in different directions once we have gone.
But there’s still something about not being apart of what you worked so hard on for so many years. There’s something about planning and praying and being able to see that come to fruition.
And there's still something about those bonds formed at camp, between counselors and campers alike. There's the Alexa's, the Patsy's, the TeT's, the C.C.'s, the Clifford's that you know you'll never forget, even when you're 80.
There's something about the perspectives you gain and how those seem to dim once you're back in the 'real world'. There's something to be said for the middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom, the talks on the backporch, worship time for 6 days of the week, the early morning runs, the last hike up the stairs at the end of the day, praying over your campers each night, and falling into bed exhausted, hoping that you made a difference even with one smile, one hug that day.
But there's equally something to be said about having had the opportunity to be apart of something so much bigger than 'us'. Because no matter who is at camp each summer, no matter what time swimming starts, no matter if there is too much or too little rain, no matter how the numbers end up, God is still God. And Camp of the Hills is still God's. (It was never 'ours' to begin with.) And God is still faithful. Always has been, always will be.
So I guess I need to keep reminding myself of that and let God be God and just thank Him for the time He gave me at this little spot on County Road 344.
But I will miss it.
Well, yes, a pet turtle is still in the picture, but I like to think down the road a bit. So the poles are open, and I'm now accepting votes on the following:
(Personally, I'm voting for the cheetah.)
So the weekend was a good one: fresh home-grown strawberries, the lollipop song, and hunting cape buffalo... But the highlights can be found below:
...hangin' out with Aunt Gretch...
...Grammy T introduces Wyatt to Little Critter...
...on the ranch with Dad...
...playing with Grammy T...
...taking the pups to the park... Note:only the cool dogs get to wear goggles and backpacks...
...one cute kid...
...wearing Pa's camo hat...
...and Wyatt's first horse ride on Daisy.
