Commitment

Matthew 5:33-37 -- 33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.


Commitment is a scary thing. Many men are accused of being afraid of commitment by their significant others. We have to swear in court that we are committing to a truthful testimony. Our wedding ceremony and baptism are both ceremonies of commitment. In the Bible there are three major covenants God made with his people in the Old Testament, The Abrahamic covenant, The Aaronic covenant, and The Mosaic Covenant. Then God created the most important covenant which is known as the New Covenant through Jesus. Church's generally ask people to become members, essentially stating a commitment to that body of the Kingdom. Various contracts are signed as commitments to fulfill an agreement, you can pinkie swear, even go so far as to exchange a drop of blood, and swear on your mother's grave but our actions speak so much louder.

Covenants and commitments were important to God so I assume they should be important to us. And yet, again, as humans we have assigned levels of importance to commitments by our actions. Most would tell you all commitments are important but our actions speak differently. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being not important and 10 being most important we have placed various situations. I'd say a situation falling on the '1' would be telling someone you'd pray for them and then not doing it. While most say this is important the act is often forgotten. Of course a commitment landing at '10' would be marriage and the actions of many show this is not really the case. 

Aside from the fact we are imperfect and thus cannot have perfect commitments we still continually walk away from them. How easy is it to tell a friend we'll show up to their party and then back out at the moment of a better offer or a desire to lounge at home? Or perhaps we hold out on committing, knowing there might be a better offer. I've learned I miss out on a lot of good times by waiting for better offers. Not only that but I tell those who invite me that I don't value them as much. 

Sometimes sticking to a commitment just sucks. Not all commitments are fun, but I believe we honor God by saying 'yes' or 'no' and sticking to it. By doing what you say you're going to do you create for yourself a reputation of being reliable and honest. If we know we can't or won't do what we say then we shouldn't say it or we should tell the person we can't make it. A lot of times we reject invitations or commitments and quickly follow it with excuses. Who cares why? What's important is our follow through. In my view, and experience on both sides, I feel holding out on committing is just as dishonoring as not doing what you say.  

I struggle with this often and am "training" (not trying) to get better at this.  May you honor God this week by saying 'yes' or 'no' and sticking with it.

Battle of the Grocery Stores

I'm trying this for the third time....the different grocery store not the blog. Let me preface this by saying in the end I really don't think it matters all that much. Safeway vs. Fry's. They both have ads, they both have sales, they both have their club card to reduce prices. I think some weeks Safeway has good deals and some weeks Fry's has good deals. I'm not about to be that person who goes to 3 different grocery stores every week to find the best deals. My time is worth more than any possible savings I would get from perusing ads, organizing my grocery list and driving to each of the stores.

So why do I keep comparing the two stores? Fry's usually has a much better produce section than Safeway, at least the stores by my house do. Luckily Fry's is close enough that I'd be willing to switch from Safeway.  Access to good produce is important to my shopping experience. I don't want to pay for fresh food when it's not really fresh and I don't like to return to the grocery store at a later date because they were out of what I needed, especially lugging around a 1 year old. This may sound ridiculous and perhaps a little snooty. Here's my thing. In this day in age grocery stores are certainly capable of offering this to their customers and I intend to be a conscience consumer, giving my business to the one who meets the majority of my preferences and needs.

Why have I chosen Safeway as my main shopping arena? It's super close to our house (convenience), I know the store so it's easier to get in and out (convenience and efficiency), and in my last two "scientific studies" of comparing the two stores I found there was no real difference in prices. So I do it for convenience, which is a huge pay off to me. Not to mention since I go to the store weekly a few of the checkout employees know me and Hadley, that's fun.

Ok Fry's is not but a mile, if that, down the road from Safeway, so the extra minute or two it'd take me to drive down there would be worth it for good produce and cheaper prices, if in fact they do have cheaper prices.

This is how I intend to be a little more scientific in my process of comparing: First I have an app on my iphone which is pretty cool. I can scan/type items in (some items aren't in the database though) and have it added to my grocery list. Sometimes it even has the size of the package/can. I can then add the price and quantity, make notes about coupons, etc. It then keeps a running total of what's on my list. As I pick up items I can check them off and it goes into "my cart". I now have a running total of what's left on my list and what's in my cart. These items and prices are all saved for future reference. This is one tool of comparing because I change prices each trip if there are sales, etc. I will also keep a spreadsheet of staple items with prices from both stores. I plan to shop Fry's for one month (about 4 trips) and then compare it to our previous Safeway trip totals.

I want to like Fry's so I can tap into their produce but I will not be a happy consumer when customers and tv ad's alike are doting about Fry's low prices when in fact they are comparable to surrounding grocery stores. I realize saying they have low prices is a marketing technique but so many people I know claim Fry's really is cheaper and I have yet to see that. I even went so far as to claim on Facebook that there was no difference. I will now come clean and say that I did not really do that great of a study between the two and will gladly recant my claim if I find different results.

Let the study begin! Oh and take a minute to answer my two polls on the top, right-hand side of my blog.

***Clarification: After I wrote this post my husband pointed out a miscommunication in it...I will be comparing comparable items as I shop.

Randomness

I want to blog but I feel like my brain is too scattered to stick to any one topic. Here are a few snapshots of what is traveling in and out of my brain lately.

Hadley's getting at least 3 molars, possibly more, and showing no real signs of irritability or fever. Both of which she has gotten with her past 6 teeth. I'm soaking it up and feel blessed, it was just a huge shock when we noticed little white teeth poking through her gums. The only thing that may have been an indicator was her picky eating but it's always hard to say it's from teething and not just her general fickleness. I feel like I'm working frantically to get her talking more, she really doesn't say very many words, although she can so I need to calm down. Just tell me to calm down. It will happen I know, I just want to give her ample opportunities.

We're revamping our budget. I came to the realization I like to spend money. It doesn't have to be on frivolous things. Just going to Target to buy things for the house or buying groceries...I'm spending money and it's fun. I don't think I'm doing it to fill a void unless that void is time. I like it because it gives me something to do. Aside from spending money I have a lot to do....it's just not always as fun. I've never been too concerned about having enough because I know God will provide for us, although if I don't watch what I'm spending then we'll have no money by our own fault. Arrrgggggg! I want to use our money wisely out of respect to my husband who works so hard to earn it and out of respect to God who graciously provides for us. To do this I need to change my behavior and attitude. I need to buckle down and really get serious about it. I need a mindset of being content.

I submitted two articles last week to Clubhouse Magazine which is a publication for children put out by Focus on the Family. I was really looking for a smaller publication so perhaps my chances of being accepted might be greater. However, that's difficult to find for children and for the topics I had already written about. My articles had already been edited once by my mentor and then again by a sweet friend who offered her free time. I felt I should take advantage of that and get them out there so I didn't want to write anything new. The magazine usually takes 8 weeks to get back with authors so I'm sure there will be an update on the blog when I hear back. I'm not too worried about being rejected, at least not yet. I kind of figure I will be since it's my very first time submitting an article. Words of encouragement in the writing career is almost an oxymoron. It's just tough, what I imagine it is like for aspiring actors or musicians.

My final thought for the evening....I'm ready for fall and winter. I know, I know I always talk about how I love the summer and the heat. That is still my favorite but as the wise author of Ecclesiastes said, "There is a time for everything." I enjoy the fall and winter because it means fun holidays and family time. Of course by the time January and February roll around I'm ready for the summer again. It would even be great if it snowed. I figure if it's going to get cold it might as well be worth it....bring on the snow, but only for a few days. This just in time for the first official day of fall.

What's on your mind?

Friday's Foto

To me, this is serenity.

Confessions of a Bipolar Neat Freak

I need to get this written out so I can see just how ridiculous I'm being.

I love to clean and I hate to clean. Cleaning overwhelms me and clutter stresses me out. I'm embarrassed by a messy house and I'm embarrassed by how much I fret about cleaning.

It starts like this: I take a cup to the kitchen from the living room. It's a short walk into my small kitchen. Along the way I notice our breakfast table has papers needing to be filed and stuff to be put away in each of our bedrooms. Ugh...I'm not a fan of filing although I want things to be organized. As I put the cup in the kitchen I reach a fork in the road -- Do I put the cup in the dishwasher or just place it in the sink for later? I then decide to put the cup in the sink and wait until I have more dishes to do. For the few minutes I'm standing at the sink I notice the spots of water on the window above the sink, the stubborn paint stains we got on our cabinets when we first moved in, the tile counter top with pieces missing, the crumbs all over the counter top, the stained stove top, and the dirty light blue tile on our floor. I immediately feel overwhelmed. I start to clean and become overwhelmed by all that I'd like to clean (which probably doesn't need it) so I just stop and it never gets done so I get stressed out so I don't clean so it becomes more cluttered and I become frazzled....you get the point. Granted the kitchen may be a bad example since we will be remodeling it early next year. However it's a place that is constantly used and seen by guests and by us. It's constantly used then it should be dirty right?

This is the dilemma. We live in our house, it is definitely a home for us. So it's natural for it to be a little messy with things laying all around. But for some reason I can't stand it when papers are piled up on our breakfast table or when there are clothes all over our bedroom. I like to blame it on the fact that we have a semi-small house. Don't get me wrong I'm VERY grateful for our house. I sometimes think we have too much stuff though and not enough places to neatly organize it away. I feel like just about every surface has piles of things. Because our kitchen is small we have to pile things on the counter. In our office we have piles of picture frames we haven't put up yet, along with piles of random items that would probably normally go in a desk drawer, of which we don't have. In our bedroom we constantly have piles of clothes laying on the ironing board.

Ok "piles" plural may be exaggerating. If you started to get the picture of a hoarder I've gone too far. We don't overspend and certainly don't have problems throwing things away. Although I sometimes feel like we could easily be on the show, I know the producers would hysterically laugh us out of their submission pile. Actually, I LOVE to throw stuff away. In fact I'd rather throw stuff away that is probably still useful then keep it around to have it clutter up the space. Yet another dilemma, I don't want to be wasteful. Have a yard sale you might say. Yes, we do those but we don't currently have enough big ticket items to draw customers in. Then donate it. I'm not sure the Good Will has a place for sticky wall mount thingies. Again, things that are useful I just haven't found a place for them yet.

Here's the good part in all of this, I can recognize how ridiculous I get about it. I know our house is really not that messy, but it FEELS messy. Another problem with this situation is I compare our house to other's houses. If I walk into a house I look around and see counter tops free and clear of clutter. I see tables and desks empty because each item has it's individual place. Floors are free from tripping hazards. Bedrooms have neatly made beds with nightstands void of books which haven't been read for over 3 months.

I can honestly say I think this has all been triggered by staying at home with Hadley. In part because she has her own toys she scatters about the house and I am home a lot more to walk around and notice things, which probably never bugged me before. Hadley's toys don't really bother me because they do have their own place to which they go each evening. However, I think having to clean up after her every night has compounded my dislike for cleaning in general.

In closing, I've accepted the fact that I will be daily cleaning most of my house until we are empty nesters. For one, because there will only be two of us. Two, because maybe by then we will have developed better habits about putting things away right away. And three because maybe we'll have just a little bit bigger house to store things in an organized fashion. For now I will dream of a professional organizer coming in to our house and showing me the ways of the clean, the ways of the de-cluttered and de-stressed.

*Exaggeration was used for dramatic effect.

Friday's Foto

Two of My Favorite People

I love this picture of Jon and Hadley in Pittsburgh.

A Trip to the Burgh - Acts 2 & 3

To view previous Acts please click here.

Act 2, Scene 3 - Rib Fest, Heinz Field, and Pizza

Saturday started off chilly and cloudy. Jon, Shawn, Hadley and I walked to the neighborhood park so Hadley could play on the playground. Shawn went for a jog to the gym so after playing the three of us headed back to the house for a nap. Around lunch time we were off to a Rib Fest held near the entrance to Heinz Field, where the Steelers play. Side note: You many notice I elude to Heinz field a lot in my Facebook photos or blogs/comments, but you have to understand how big of a deal this is for any Pittsburgher. There wasn't a place we went that didn't have at least half of the crowd wearing some sort of Steelers gear. We were told Steelers shirts and jerseys are acceptable to be worn for ANY occasion in ANY venue. So visiting Heniz Field is like visiting Mecca for any Pittsburgher. End of side note. As we entered the rib fest arena we were initially greeted by fair-like booths and food. I was baffled. People come to a rib fest to eat fair food??? Anywhoo, we traveled on past all the fried food into the epi-center of meat. To the left of us was a row of about 10 stands offering ribs and meats of different kinds. To the right of us was about 4 more stands offering ribs followed by some game booths, and fair-dessert-like food. We went to the left hungry for ribs, which just so happens to be my favorite main course food. These stands were adorned with banners telling of awards won, competitions participated in, and food offered. Right in front of the counters where you ordered food were stacks of giant trophies. Who knew? We decided to split up and then share our findings. Shawn went for some Carolina-style ribs, Suzi went for Texas-style ribs, and Jon and I (I had Hadley so I couldn't carry my own food) went for some Kansas-style ribs and brisket. I believe the difference is in the sauce used. We convened at a nearby table and commenced tearing into the food. All the meat we got was delicious! However, my favorite were the Texas-style ribs which held a more traditional tasting BBQ sauce. Hadley seemed to enjoy the shredded brisket. Later Jon and Shawn went for some corn on the cob with special seasoning called, "Awe Shucks!" I thought that was clever. We then walked around Heinz Field a bit, saw the 6 Superbowl trophies won by the Steelers. To finish off our healthy meal we all tried a fried Oreo and contrary to my initial belief, it was quite tasty.

Yummmm, Ribs.

Heinz Field

We crossed through the stadium parking lot where there were people tailgating. Mind you, there were no games or special events happening, except the Rib Fest, oh, and Brett Michaels was there to sing but we didn't stick around to watch. So apparently instead of going to the movies or going to a park, people tailgate. They were also playing a game called corn hole. Look it up (as Corn Hole game), I thought it was a funny name. We continued the day by walking down to the river side and enjoying the cool weather.

Down by the rivers with the skyline in the background.

That night we decided to take it easy. We were going to order pizza, grab some beer, and watch a movie. We went to a store/bar/restaurant where they had a pretty wide selection of bottled beer to buy. We each picked a bottle and then picked up our pizza and movie. The movie we watched was Hot Tub Time Machine. It had some funny parts, but overall it was pretty crude and had too much nudity in it. The pizza was ok and the beer was good.

Act 2, Scene 4 - More playground time, a Birthday BBQ and Dave and Andy's ice cream

Sunday morning Jon, Hadley and I walked up to the park again, this time we went to a different playground. It was a big park. We thought we'd walk around the track and take the long way to the playground. Well we took the wrong path and came to a dead end near a pump-house that serviced the reservoir in the park. We ended up carrying Hadley's stroller up this steep, brush-filled embankment to get on the real track. It somehow seemed easier then walking all the way back to where we started. The playground was a giant wooden one which seemed to overwhelm Hadley a bit. She became more interested in the wood chips on the ground because she had no idea what to do on the playground.

Later that afternoon we drove out to Shawn's cousins house for his cousin's kid's birthday BBQ. It was quite a BBQ too. Lots of typical BBQ food, hamburger's, hot dogs, potato salad, cole slaw...deliciousness. The family had a large grassy lot behind their house so Hadley found one of three toy lawn mowers they had and started mowing the grass. We had to leave before the cake was cut because Hadley was about to lose it. On our way home we stopped at a well-known ice cream shop called Dave and Andy's. I had Cookies n' Cream and Jon had Birthday Cake. I guess he was a little sad we missed the real birthday cake. Hadley had a little of both and we all enjoyed it! After Hadley went to bed us adults played Mario Party and Rock Band on the Wii.

Act 2, Scene 5 - Playgrounds and Wings

Our final day in Pittsburgh was a fast one. Again, Jon, Hadley, and I walked down to the nearby playground and for the first time other people showed up to play also. After about an hour of playing we went back to Shawn and Suzi's to pack up and shower. Shawn and Suzi wanted to give us one last Pittsburgh experience so we headed to Fat Head's Saloon. On the way there we stopped at a pond to feed the ducks and the geese. We tried to give Hadley bits of stale bread to throw at the birds but she just wanted to eat it. We took that as a hint she was ready for lunch. It took a while to get there because as we traveled through downtown Pittsburgh we discovered many streets were blocked off for the Labor Day parade. We finally made it and enjoyed a delicious lunch. This restaurant brews some of their own beer and is famous for their wings. Seeing as it was noon and we had a long plane ride ahead of us we did not partake in any beer, maybe next time. We did however, try the wings and shared a giant sandwich. All of it was fabulous.

Playground fun.

Making sure the geese don't attack from behind.

Act 3, Scene 1 - The plane ride to Chicago

We got to the Pittsburgh airport about 2 hours early in anticipation of a long line at the security check point. We got through quickly and so had to hang out for a while. It wasn't all that bad since Hadley got time to run around and burn off some energy. The plane ride from Pittsburgh was really uneventful, it only lasted about 1 hour. We arrived in an extremely busy Midway airport. We ate a really good sub at the airport from a local restaurant I believe. I can't remember the name of it now. Then we let Hadley run around for a bit and then boarded the next plane to HOME!

In the Pittsburgh airport, leaving for home.

Act 3, Scene 2 - The plane ride to Tucson

Let me preface this scene by saying earlier in the morning while we were packing to leave and showering we were in limbo regarding Hadley's morning nap. She ended up sleeping on Jon's lap while I finished packing and then we switched and Jon loaded the bags into the car and Hadley slept on my lap. She slept for about 45 minutes. We figured either this will help her sleep better on the plane or it will make for a terrible plane ride with a cranky baby. Either way the decision was made, the act of a short nap done. We loaded the plane and figured we'd take the window and middle seat, leaving the isle seat to a stranger. Mistake #1. This was a full flight so we were all crammed in in close quarters. As we ascended into the heavens Hadley decided she had had enough. She started crying over something, I think it was something we wouldn't give her. For the next 3 or 4 minutes (although it felt like 30 or 40 minutes) our child turned into a flailing, screaming, mad-woman. We were trying everything in our power to calm her down. It was like we were invisible. She was throwing herself around so much it was hard to hold on to her. Of course she was screaming in other people's ears who were seated nearby and they were giving us ugly stares. We couldn't get out of our seat because we hadn't reached cruising altitude and the fasten seat belt sign was still illuminated. After she used up all of her energy she kind of fell asleep mid-tantrum. That's when you know you have one tired toddler. She slept soundly for about 2 hours of the 3.5 hour flight. I actually started laughing during her tantrum for two reasons: I didn't know what else to do and I knew if I got mad and stressed out I'd make things worse, and two, I thought we are now those parents with the screaming kid on the plane, HA!

After about 2 hours of sleep we're not quite sure what sparked Hadley's next tantrum, perhaps I moved a little too much and woke her up or she had a nightmare, either way, the flailing and screaming started back up. What was weird was I think she was still asleep and we couldn't wake her up. Our seat-mate had fallen asleep but luckily his friend across the isle noticed we were attempting to get out of the seats and woke him up for us. I took Hadley to the back of the plane and she immediately calmed down and kind of woke up. We stayed back there for about 5 minutes and then I went and sat back down. Jon took her and she fell right back to sleep. The rest of the plane ride went fine and we got home around 10pm, exhausted.

CLOSE CURTAIN