My New Find!

Let me just begin by saying these are quite possibly the ugliest shoes in the world, yet they are the most comfortable things I've ever put on my feet. S.e.r.i.o.u.s.l.y!!!

I ordered them online a few days ago from Vibram Five Fingers (www.vibramfivefingers.com) and mine are the exact same as below, except in all black. Which of course makes me look like I have gorilla feet. But I am convinced that they are the next "it" thing. Not to mention they are going to save my feet from being completely destroyed during all of my volleyball games. They make different styles for running, hiking, rock climbing, etc. So, laugh now, but take my word for it...these things are going to be ALL OVER THE PLACE in no time.

Disney's Desperate Housewives

Maybe being single isn't so bad after all! :)

Online Dating is for the birds...

And while I'm on this little tangent, let me just say that I hate being relegated to even have to go online in search of love. Why is it that all of the really nice guys I see serving in church can't find it in themselves to be interested in a person like me? All I'm asking for is ONE!

After taking the past year and a half off to get my head on straight, I finally decided to put myself back out there. And it's no better than it was 2 years ago. The vast majority of the responses I've received have been from men in their 50's who are 5'8" or shorter with 3+ kids. Really? My only requirements are:

Believe/Love/Serve the Lord
Be 5'9" or taller
Between the ages of 28-40

What in the world makes them think I will make an exception for them? Maybe I'm being mean. But then I have a disaster date like the one I went on last night and it reminds me why I have these requirements in the first place.

Meet Tom. He had a very vague profile (red flag #1) mentioning that he is shy, humble, wants kids, is a Christian, likes travel. But he looks sweet in his pictures so I give him the benefit of the doubt. On our date last night, I find out he doesn't really believe in the Bible, much less God, and has no desire to go to church. Oh, and the kids option...he isn't really sure he wants them. He would much rather just get married and selfishly have his spouse to himself. After all, kids just require more time and effort. And as far as being shy - if throwing himself on me and asking me to spend the night with him multiple times is considered shy, I am not prepared for online dating!

Have you been squeezed lately?

The singles at my church have been going through a study on James for the past few weeks that has been very enlightening. Just last night we studied James 3:1-12, which talks about the taming of the tongue. Or perhaps I should say, our inability to tame it. We were reminded of the power of our words, which was no real surprise. But the idea that our words define who we are was a new concept to me.

I've always functioned under the premise that "my actions do not define who I am." Now, for those of you who believe the old saying "do as I say, not as I do" - this is NOT what I'm referring to. I defer back to God's word in Romans 7:15 where Paul says "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Paul is speaking of our battle with the flesh. We desire to do what is right, but we often give in to our fleshly desires and do just the opposite. However, our weak moments do not make us any less of a Christian, nor do they define who we are as a Christian. They simply remind us that we are sinful beings and that we can only overcome the temptations of this world with God's help. Wouldn't this same logic apply to what we say?

Maybe not.

I found the following article at http://www.boundless.org/, a website by Focus on the Family that I love to read. I love the analogy that is given of the sponge and how what comes out of us reflects what is inside of us.

In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus talks about this as roots and fruits:

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

In other words, our words (and thoughts and actions) are the evidence of what is stored up in our hearts, the fruit of what is rooted inside of us. The circumstances of our lives simply reveal what's taken root in our hearts. When pressed, we either ooze the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of sin.

Author and biblical counselor Dr. David Powlison uses the sponge analogy to help us understand this passage. If you hold a wet sponge in your hand and squeeze it, water will hit the floor. Most of us would come along and look at the puddle staining the carpet and wonder why someone squeezed the sponge. But Dr. Powlison says this passage in Luke shows us the squeeze only revealed what was already in the sponge. If the sponge were dry, the squeeze would not have elicited any water. The problem wasn't the squeeze; it was the contents of the sponge.

In the same way, when we get squeezed by the circumstances of life (an inevitability), we ooze the overflow of our hearts. We usually don't like what we see, so we blame the squeeze. We blame the circumstances. "I wouldn't have reacted that way if I hadn't been tired." Or, "I only said that because I was hot, thirsty, and uncomfortable." That's our default setting: blame the circumstances.

But Jesus tells us the overflow is what's already in our hearts. Being tired, hot, thirsty, or uncomfortable are only "revealers"; they aren't the reason we react in anger. We're angry because anger has taken root in our hearts.

I know I have been squeezed quite a bit lately and what has come out of me has not been very pleasant. Honestly, I'm feeling a bit like a lemon at the moment. I can only pray that God will restore me to Himself and allow the Holy Spirit to squeeze all of the junk out of my life so that I can absorb His goodness.

A Fun & Frustrating Weekend!

I love this little guy! He turns 5 on Wednesday and my parents brought him to Dallas this past weekend to celebrate his birthday. We were supposed to go to the Lego Store, have lunch at Dave & Busters and then visit the Dallas World Aquarium. Things did NOT go as planned.

A block from my place, my dad's truck broke down and we spent 3 hours trying to get all of the needed parts and a mechanic to come and fix it. Mason was so incredibly patient and watched movies with his Gigi while my dad and I ran back and forth to Auto Zone. We finally did get around to going to the Lego Store, which was a huge hit! He literally couldn't contain his excitement and just had a look of awe on his face the entire time. We then went to the Dallas World Aquarium, which was sadly a disappointment. I had been there before and absolutely loved it. However, many of the animals were hiding yesterday. Probably due to the fact that there were approximately one million people there. Ha! Mason did get to see some sharks, which were the highlight, before we headed home. Ultimately, he had a fun day and all of the adults were tuckered out, so it was a mission accomplished!

Yesterday was simply a reminder that it doesn't always matter what you are doing, as much as who you are with. I enjoyed getting to see my mom, dad and Mason. And even through all of the kinks in our plan, we still had a wonderful time together. I love my family.