Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I have a lot of blogging to do, it seems.

Actually, I have quite a few ideas bouncing around in my head, but have been lacking in time and motivation lately. So, you can look forward to some interesting posts in the near future. 

This past weekend, I went to the state ladies retreat at the camp in Clear Lake that I have worked at and counseled at in the past. It was a good weekend of learning, fellowshipping, and eating (there is always food whenever you are not in a session!). This year's theme was "Diamonds in the Rough: Changed into His Image." I have to admit that I was having a tough time paying attention this weekend. Sitting is not normally my thing, and our speaker was a tad on the long-winded side this year. Still, I was grateful for the reminder of the worth of giving yourself to God to be molded and transformed. In church, we are also focusing on the theme of "Ambitious Worship," founded on Romans 12:1-2. These two themes really pushed me to confront my selfishness, yet again. To realize that my goal should be the excellence of knowing Christ.

Right before work on Friday, I went over to my friend Megan's house, where she died my hair! Until now, I have been a "hair-dye virgin." Never died. Never highlighted. So...I was quite ambivalent about the decision to do it, as well as the color choice. But I committed, and I did it! Well, Megan did. And here are the results:

 Before

After

Really, these are not great pictures of me, but perhaps you can see that I went a shade darker to a "chocolate brown." The second one was taken in one of the bathrooms at camp at 4:45 in the morning because I just could not sleep [sigh]. Anyway, it's just a semi-permanent color, so we'll see if this is a keeper!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Soule Mamma (and A Blithe Spirit).

In her words: "A single photo--no words--capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember." If you're inspired to do the same, head over toher blog and leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to see.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

This past Sunday, Jordan and I had a chance to take a trip to the Iowa State Fair with our other S and J friends, Scott and Janelle--along with 103,081 other people. If you have never been to the state fair, then you have missed out on an iconic Iowa tradition. The thing I love most about it is the great mix of people you will find milling about you: parents juggling energetic children; old couples walking hand-in-hand, while unknowingly slowing the flow of traffic; teenage girls trying their best to be "cool" while the hot sun is beating down on them; and families talking excitedly in the rapid flow of languages from many different countries.

We were so grateful for a precipitation-free, humidity-free, 70-something-degree day! I wore flip-flops and my calves grew sore by the end of the day, but I didn't care because we were just having a lazy day of fun. 

Of course, we looked at the tractors...

And we ate some food (that's a one-pound hamburger, by the way)...

We saw some animals (like the world's smallest cow--so cute!)...

And then we got thirsty...

As an added bonus, I got to see a friend's prize-winning entries...

And, of course, while at the fair, you can't forget the funnel cake...

All in all, we had a wonderful time. I am so thankful for good friends that not only encourage but are just plain fun to be around. I think this is going to be an annual tradition!

Calling For a Flood

If you live in Iowa, it would be hard not to realize we are now in the midst of what they are calling, "The Floods of 2010". Not very clever, I know, but, it seems as though giving a name to something makes it feel real. In July, when everyone kept expressing their fears of this summer mimicking "The Floods of '08", I was relaxed. "Oh, if it were going to happen, it would have happened already."

Wrong.

I tend to have a "come what may" attitude when it comes to natural disasters. I have no idea why, but in this one thing, I know that I cannot control it and find myself peaceful and calm when the time comes. My senior year of high school, we had 70 mph straight-line winds tear through our neighborhood, ripping up trees, cutting our power, moving a couple of mobile homes, and removing several roofs. I can vividly remember my parents and my brother crowded around our front door and windows, waiting for the sirens to go off to tell us we should move to the cellar. All I knew was that it was late, and I was tired, so I headed to bed and told them to wake me if they went down. 

When our apartment in Ames flooded (the complex, not our actual unit) and I had to wade out through waist-deep waters at times to get out, I just laughed and told my husband not to worry about it. Now, with the flooding in Ames and central Iowa and the water sanitation problems (Ames residents are under a "boil water advisory"), there is a lot going on--a lot of individual and community sorrow and heartache. Many people's homes and businesses have been damaged. My husband's cousin had a girl in their small group who passed away yesterday morning. Several cars got swept away when trying to drive through a flooded area, and she drowned. She was only sixteen. 

In comparison to all of that, it is rather crazy to see grocery stores completely sold out of bottled water because people are buying 42 crates of it to add to their stockpile. When people see trouble on the horizon, they often react in fear, expecting the worst. Yes, things can get bad, but I think the key is to keep things in perspective. God is in control. Do you really believe that?

God is in control. For some reason, when disaster comes, God has given me this gift of faith so far. I think what I need to learn is to have faith in him when the car breaks down. Or the deadline comes. Or unexpected guests are coming and my house is not clean. :) I need to let God be in control, too. Maybe the unexpected He brings into my life will be better than any expected thing I might want. At the very least, I will count the blessings He has given me:  another day of life, clean water to drink, a dry place to lay my head, and a Father who is always working things out for my good.

P.S. Here is some raw footage from whotv.com of the flooding in Ames, in case you haven't seen it already.

 

What to Say?

I have been remiss.

Almost every night I think about posting, but I just can't seem to because there's too much to post about. Isn't that ironic?

Since I last posted, I have spent a week counseling girls from our youth group at Sr. High camp, I pulled an all-nighter to finish the monthly newsletter for our church, I have coordinated the decorations for the wedding of two of my loveliest friends, and I have ignored my laundry for far too long. 

And honestly, I don't feel like I can go into all those details. 

Especially with camp, I never know what to say when people want you to summarize a whole week, month, summer, or even year in the 30 seconds they are willing to listen to you talk about it. :) Was it great? Yes! Did God work in people's lives? Double "Yes!" Was I excited to come home and sleep in my own bed and shower in my own shower? ...Um...YES.

One of the best things that I think has happened in the last few weeks has been God softening my heart. He has been showing me how easily I am "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love". I grow far too comfortable with "the sin that so easily entangles us" and allowing distance to grow between me and the Lover of My Soul. Just like the relationship within a marriage, my relationship with God takes work. I cannot just say, "Jesus, You have all of me, now and forever more...the end!" 

When I stood before my husband on our wedding day and pledged my heart, my mind, and my body to him, in essence I said:  "Where you go, I will go. What your heart longs for, I will long for. When you sorrow, I will sorrow. When you rejoice, I will rejoice. When you fall down, I will pick you up. And when I fall down, I will look for your hand to guide me and protect me." In a similar way, I have said to my Father in Heaven:  "I will go where You want me to go. I want to desire what Your heart desires. I want to see sorrow and joy the way that You do. I trust that You will never fail me, and when I fail, I trust that You will always be there to guide me and protect me."

Just as I could choose to forget our wedding vows, I can easily forget my call as a disciple of Christ. Just as my marriage takes the work of daily deciding to love and respect my husband as God calls me to and as Jordan deserves, walking with God takes the work of daily deciding to spend time communicating with Him by reading His Word, coming to Him in prayer, and--my new favorite--being still and knowing that He is God. With all of the distractions around me, it is so easy to forget that "in Him we live and move and have our being". Daily I need to choose to serve Christ--or as Jonny Diaz says in his song, "Love Like You Loved":

Help me to love like You loved,

To serve like You served,

To speak only words of truth.

Help me to care like You cared,

For a world in despair,

Help me to love like You.