Revamp

Ok, I need to redesign my blog. I've got the background I want, books of course. Go ahead and vote on whether you like the new title or quote. If not then you have to comment with a different suggestion (a new title, a new quote, or both). Most of you know me pretty well. Oh and the blog is not just all about books/reading/writing so I need something that can be general. Thanks!

Interviews and Listening

I've got a lot going on that I'd like to blog about. Things that I've heard in recent sermons, thoughts I've had, things going on with Hadley, but as I sit down to write it all out I draw a blank. I've even been keeping notes (as a good writer should) in my iphone as I hear things I'd like to blog about. So here is an update on my writing journey. Maybe I'll do another post this week about one of my many musings.

One of my assignments for the Writer's Guild was to interview someone and write an article based on the interview. I had a hard time choosing between family members, friends, people in the church...the possibilities were endless. I decided to go with one of our pastors. I knew he had gone from working with a software company to working in the church so I thought I'd get his story. I sometimes think I'd like to work in the church in the future, but who knows. Going into the interview I was a little nervous. I'm not the best at keeping conversations alive, especially when it comes to asking questions, but I had done a little prep so I knew where I could guide the conversation if needed.

I don't think it could have gone any better, for my first interview anyway. After over an hour of talking I had realized I needed to get back to my dad who was babysitting for me but I had so many more questions to ask. I didn't need to ask more questions because I had gotten enough information. In fact, it made it a little difficult to weed through all the information to write a brief article. More is always better though. I realize part of the success to the interview was my interview subject. He's very laid back and easy going; a very personable guy. I imagine some people would be difficult to interview. I've been energized ever since about my future in writing. I feel like if writing books doesn't pan out I can always write articles. I enjoy sitting and listening to other people's stories, it's not something I do often and not something I ever thought I was good at. Sure it probably helped that I recorded the interview so I could go back and verify quotes, but getting to know someone through that brief encounter was very fulfilling and very much a blessing.

I started to think of all the people around me and all the different experiences they've been through. What amazing stories I'm sure they all have. It would take a while to write about all of them but I'm starting with my grandparents and hoping to get to some friends and other church members. These are people I respect so much, however in many different ways. If I do it for nothing else than self-gratification and the legacy for our family I'd be happy. I started interviewing my grandma a little last night. I got some basic info from her, like what her parents did for work, did she have any other family that lived in town. I knew she had grown up in Tucson just like I did so I was interested to hear the changes the city had gone through and her experiences. I think I got about 30 minutes of information out of our conversation but I've already learned so much about her.

These experiences have created a desire in me to learn more about other people and ultimately become a better listener. The hardest part for me really is to remember everything, but recording it and writing things down helps. The art of listening has really been lost in our society and that's unfortunate. We could learn so much from each other if we just took time to listen. "One man's junk is another man's treasure," yet another lesson I've learned. People might think their life is boring or so messed up no one would really care to hear it, but I think we can learn so much from each other even in the boring stuff or the negative stuff so don't be afraid to share.

This week take some time to really LISTEN to someone. Their story might surprise you!

13 months

While not many BIG things have happened in this last month, Hadley is growing up. Sometimes I look at her and see an actual grown up person, like an adult. It's only for a fleeting moment which is broken by her babbling but I see such a cute, smart, curious, independent girl.

Hadley has grown a little more picky in eating. Although we try the different foods several times and eventually she likes most of it. Eating has been a time of learning for us all as she has exhibited more of her strong will by screeching to get what she wants. We are continuously working to figure out how to teach her manners. I know at some point she'll get it, we just have to be consistent. She has grown to LOVE regular milk, in fact we have to keep it out of sight most of the day, otherwise she'd just fill up on it. Truly her daddy's girl. Between the 2 of them we will definitely need to buy our own cow.

She loves to play by throwing all her toys out of the toy box, help with laundry by throwing it on the floor, clean her room by emptying her book case...do you see the pattern? I love it all though because if I walk in and catch her doing it, she looks at me with the biggest smile on her face!

She has shown a new appreciation for her books. With each page it's as if she's really soaking up the story or pictures. Hadley has grown attached to a particular blanket and of course it's a big one so I'll need to cut it up to prevent any injuries from carrying it around. She has taken to the Linus way of life with that blanket. 'Hi' has become her new word besides 'Dada'. We're trying to teach her new words but she loves those two so we'll let her wear them out.

We've been doing swim lessons which have gone fairly well. The pool tends to be a little cold sometimes and I think that ruins it. She especially does not like to be dunked under water. There were a few days where she was able to play in the shallow end where she could stand up (the pool has a beach entrance) and she loved that. She would even dunk herself, although not really intentionally, and didn't have a problem with it. Luckily, her BFF Julie, was able to get in to the same swim class and they endure the fun (or torture) together.

Most people have seen the video of Hadley taking her first steps unaided. She was playing with a friends car keys and just started shuffling across the floor. I really don't think she realized what she was doing, she was just so caught up with the keys. Since then she has taken very few steps on her own but she at least seems to be walking more even while holding on, so I'm thinking she's realized that walking is another form of mobilization. I imagine it will be soon when she starts to walk more and more. It may also help that she was promoted to her new nursery class at church and is now surrounded by more walkers.

This week Jon and I will be going on a much needed double date with some good friends of ours to the Gaslight theatre and Hadley will be spending the night, like overnight, with my parents. This will be her second time doing it and while I will still miss her like crazy I am definitely having an easier time with it. I'm looking to appreciate the brief break. I often don't feel like I NEED a break (although I know I will at some point), but I realize it would be good as Hadley gets older to let her be with other people without us. I'm not worried about anything, I'll just miss seeing her first thing in the morning!

Contentment

Ahhhhh contentment, how you elude me as the cockroaches elude the light.

Your joy is like that of a lazy dog resting at his masters feet.

Your ability to seize each moment baffles those who notice.

Ahhhhh, contentment, never wanting more.

Even the birds of the air seek more for their nests,

Yet you have somehow decided you have enough.

In fact should you get more, you'd most likely reject it.

I hear you smugly say, "No thank you sir, none for me." Perhaps in a British accent.

I imagine your home in a far away land,

Where Jenny Craig cannot tell you you need a better body,

Target cannot send their luring mailers with the latest and greatest,

And where Budweiser can't throw parties with fancy boats and sexy party guests.

My world tells me you are esoteric, unattainable, or even nonexistent.

But I see you, I've even met you.

I'll catch you again, one of these days.

When that day comes I will be King of the Mountain!

I will push down, knock down, and step on the fingers of all those who attempt to defeat me.

All those TV ads will try to infiltrate my troops, they will fail.

Magazines will attempt to find a weak spot in my fortress and they shall be met with great force.

Billboards' laser beams will be intercepted by my force field.

No lie of needing more shall penetrate my armor of contentment.

Conceivably, that day is today!

Land of the Free or Land of the Entitled?

We hold these truths to be self–evident,

That all men are created equal,

That they are endowed by their Creator

with certain unalienable Rights,

That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,

Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Entitlement is a strong word in our society. It's something that has become extremely prevalent in the news, especially in regards to laws and the government. You hear about law suits all over because someone is entitled to money or property. As America has remained a world power for many years we have also gotten lost in this sense of entitlement (myself included). Some say we are lucky, as if things just happened to fall into place, to live in America. I'd say we are fortunate, as opportunities and hard work have afforded us the freedoms we have today. Yet, we feel we are entitled to even more. If we get what we deserve it was all by our own means.

We are entitled to speak our opinions, no matter the consequences (i.e. hurting others, demoralizing an other's belief's, defamation of our leaders, etc.). We are entitled to living a comfortable life free of hard work and sacrifice. We are entitled to vacations, raises, and pats on the back. Parents feel their children are entitled to straight A's just for showing up to class. A victim is entitled to justice. College-graduates are entitled to a job upon graduating. Certain job positions are entitled to a certain salary. Those who lose their belongings in natural disasters are entitled to reimbursement by the government. I'm just throwing these situations out there, whether right or wrong they are situations of entitlement, no offense intended. If you get offended I recommend reading The Bait of Satan by John Bevere.

Our democratic government is one of checks and balances to prevent a sole entity from having all the power. While this system has "worked" ( I use that term loosely) it has also brought with it certain rights to voters, or rather entitlement. There's the phrase, "you can't complain if you didn't vote." But it's okay to complain, argue, aggressively protest, slander, and be destructive if you did vote, it's your right, you're entitled. HEAR ME when I say, I am very thankful and feel very fortunate for our government and the system that is in place. However, it would be foolish to say it is a perfect system, one better than what God originally planned out. See the Old Testament and Israel's constant struggle with rulers and governments, it's not what God wanted for them.

Our lives are evidence of this right to lay claim. We end up being rear-ended in our car and we feel entitled to have our car repaired; this is after we let the offender know how we feel. We paid for the car didn't we? The other person was the one who messed up, they weren't watching, there should be consequences. We worked hard for 3 months don't we deserve a little vacation time? I've paid my taxes, now it's time they start paying for my medical bills. If I order a Big Mac at McDonald's and instead receive a Quarter Pounder, I have the right to complain, yell, even receive my meal FREE! Afterall, I gave them MY hard-earned money, I'm the customer and the customer is ALWAYS right!

I look at the declaration at the beginning of this post and can agree, that perhaps (now I don't know all of scripture) God does want us to have life (IN HIM), he wants us to be free (THROUGH JESUS' SACRIFICE) and He gives us the opportunities to pursue happiness (BY LOVING OTHERS). But Holy Moly, how did we get on this train of entitlement? What happened to humility and forgiveness? When did this notion of all of our material possessions being OURS come in to play? Where does it say in the Bible that we are better than others and DESERVE more than others?

Another side note: I'm not saying people shouldn't have to have consequences, that's life. Without consequences and laws there wouldn't be much structure to society, in fact I'm not sure we could survive without them.

1 Corinthians 10 "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." Our sense of entitlement is destructive and unloving. We turn into "me-monsters". There is a lot of scripture where even Jesus himself says that people are deserving of things such as wages, praise, etc. What I'm talking about here is the idea that we deserve more than what Christ has to offer or has promised. Along with the idea of needing more is the idea that we have done this solely on our own, failing to recognize the truth that God has provided for us.

What a humbling experience for both parties if in the event of a crash the victim shows grace to the offender because he/she knows their car is not theirs, it belongs to God, or rather God provided it for them. What a way to love your neighbor; instead of protesting on the corner about a new law, say tax increase, you help out your local school, because God has provided for you. What an experience as an act of worship, to forgive someone who screwed up.

Instead of feeling entitled, try out humility, thankfulness, grace, forgiveness, and love. 1 Corinthians 8:9 says, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak." (NIV). So what rights are you willing to let go of in order to build up another? (The Bait of Satan, by John Bevere). "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV).

Daily I am a victim to this destructiveness that is 'Entitlement'. May our hearts be genuine in their pursuit of Christ and may this genuineness be what is portrayed to those around us. Let us stop searching for justice and rewards and start serving and worshipping in humility.

I'm 1!

A few days late, but here it is nonetheless.

Our little girl turned 1 on May 13th. It's hard to imagine that one whole year ago we woke up, nice and rested and then my water broke. Our life changed and I wouldn't go back. Hadley has brought much joy to our lives. Even during the tough times when she wouldn't sleep or eat; when I wasn't sure what to do with her endless crying, every single second of it was worth it.

She has grown into a beautiful little girl. I love her eyes accented by her long eyelashes. She has the cutest little toes and fingers. Her chubby legs make me smile. Her laugh is infectious. Hadley has a strong and independent personality, she isn't afraid to crawl off into the unknown. Among that independent toddler is a little girl who loves to snuggle with her parents and her favorite blanket. She has a gentle spirit even though she loves to steal toys or touch her fellow babies with not-so gentle touches. Her curiosity makes her fun to watch. When she cries, it breaks my heart, although I secretly love knowing she wants me to comfort her.

She's mastered crawling and standing. It's hard to imagine her walking, she's still so little, but I know soon it will happen. When she does start walking we'll be chasing after her as she gleefully runs off to explore. Even now she loves to play chase down our hallways, she'll even look back to make sure we're chasing her. Her little face seems to change more and more each day, making her look so grown up. The girl can eat too! She'll load her little cheeks up like a chipmunk and you can't give her food fast enough. Luckily most people who see her eat know we do really feed her, because at every meal it's like she hasn't eaten for weeks.

She's babbling away as if she's known how to talk her whole 1 year of life. We swear she's said 'hi,' 'yeah,' and 'hey'. Of course she'll call out 'mama' or 'dada' in her ramblings as if to make sure we're still there beside her. She can point to our nose, mouth and eyes as we say the words, and will pass her basketball back and forth with us. She waves simply by putting her hand in the air, no motion needed is her philosophy. And boy oh, boy, is she a dancer. She loves it! She comes up with new moves every week.

I praise God for each day with her. She is truly a gift. I also pray daily for her, that God will guide her each step and that she will learn what it means to love God fully. This is one of the hardest jobs I've ever had in my life but certainly the best. We look forward to the person she will become!

Oh, and she loves cake!

Sum, Sum, Summer time!

Ahhhh, summer time brings a sense of newness and fun for me. It's never long enough (although I will admit I look forward to the cold mainly because it means the holidays are coming, but once they're gone I'm ready for the summer). Many people think I'm crazy for liking summer time since I live in Tucson, but I think it was all the memories I had of summer growing up that makes it something I look forward to. The smell of our swamp cooler running for the first time that year, countless days of swimming, and the freedom to lounge around at home.

The middle of May brought the end of the school year and yet another year of freedom in the outdoors. There were always lake trips with friends and family. Sometimes the kids would sleep outside next to the water on our inflatable island. First thing in the morning we'd shove down a few powdered doughnuts and a Capri Sun and head off to do some knee boarding before the water got too choppy (that means rough for anyone who didn't know). We'd then come back to camp chow down on our second round of breakfast and then head back out for more water play. By the afternoons the water had been stirred up by boats, skiers and the wind that we would take a break under the shade or play king of the island on our giant inflatable island. We'd come back sun burnt and with chapped skin from being in our bathing suits 24/7, grinning from ear to ear. Other summer vacation destinations would include camping in the White Mountains.

Lazy days at home were great for reading, watching movies, playing inside or heading out to swim at a friends house or at the city pool. In the afternoon, usually right before dinner, I'd hear the familiar song of the ice cream truck off in the distance. This was the time of day where the concrete and asphalt had had just enough time to reach scorching temperatures. I'd immediately stop what I was doing, scrounge up $0.75 and run barefooted, down the street after the truck. I'd stand, or hop rather, on the hot asphalt to order a sno-cone, and it usually came with a piece of bubble-gum at the bottom. Only the gum would last like 3 chews and then it would disintegrate. The afternoons were also good for naps. The quiet hum of the swamp cooler always sang me to sleep.

There were those days of course, that my mom took advantage of us being home. She'd tell us the night before that we'd be waking up bright and early to help pull weeds. Although once we were finished we'd hook up our slip 'n slide and cool off. There was also one summer our TV had broken. We didn't have the money to buy a new one right away so my mom went out and bought us notebooks to journal in, activity books to work on and a few new games to play. While my brother and I were greatly disgruntled over the matter we quickly adjusted and still had a great summer.

Sleepovers, riding our bicycles to Dairy Queen, and playing in our sandbox are just a few other summer activities. So many memories of the hot Tucson summers, I only hope there are more to come!