When bad hair happens to good dogs...

Last week, my shaggy dog Jamal got his hair cut. He usually just gets buzzed but when the groomer hears the magical 'poodle' word, something must come over them to create the most ridiculous finished product. It always takes me a moment to see him for the first time when I pick him up and I NEVER want to lead him on to think that he should be embarrassed...but seriously! This time, he looked relatively 'normal' but his ears were super long so the drastic contrast between his near-flesh buzz cut and his ears hanging way too down low for my liking was a bit shocking!

When in doubt, fix it yourself, right?! Well, not really. I did wait for everyone to have their own satisfaction in welcoming Jamal's new haircut back into the family but then decided to trim (or hack) a whole two inches off myself with the kitchen scissors. Um, not the best outcome -- if I thought they were frizzy before...oh my word! He looked like he were wearing two pig-tails and when he ran it looked like he hovered over the blades of grass. Oops.

So, when bad hair happens to good dogs...you get your hair-stylist sister to texturize those ears and give him some much needed (and well-deserved) layers. He's still my boy and the bonus now is that I'm starting to recognize him again! He's also fashioning a nice grey smear on his back side after 'helping' paint at Karen and Travis' new home. If I cut that section off, he'd be bare bummed and I'm just not going there. It's cute, though...makes him look like he's walking backwards.

Baby girl

Well, I'm happy to announce that my friend delivered a baby girl this morning -- Kiera Dawn.

3lb 10oz

They are in intensive care in Kamloops and all seems to be well.

Yay!

Real life

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27

People all around me are having babies -- friends that I went to school with, friends I've just met, friends in Maui, a sister, and a sister-in-law. I guess it's that 'time' in a woman's life when that sort of thing happens...not mine, though -- that's not what this message is about.

One of my oldest friends is due to have a baby at the beginning of December. We met before the time that bangs and hairspray solidified their place in history (thankfully, she had the bangs...I just had the home-perm!). Anyway, she sent me a message the other day that said that her water broke...10 weeks early and she's on bed-rest now in the hospital. I don't know much about babies but I know there's good reason for them to be in the oven for the allotted time. Please pray that she can stay calm and that the baby can stay inside her for as long as possible. It doesn't look like full-term is in the picture but a few more weeks can make all the difference.

You can do this, Carmen -- you're one of the toughest people I know!

Mmm...sausages

"Sausages and baklava" doesn't exactly have the same ring to it as "Bowties" does (and I'm thankful for that!) but I'm starting to wonder if my 'bowtie effect' is starting to look a lot more like a tube of sausage links. Hmmm...

Now, don't get me wrong I LOVE sausages -- they just don't have the same aesthetic appeal as a bow-tie. Thankfully, the concept is the same where I believe that God ties the knot in certain areas in our lifetime and brings certain people into our life when we need them -- when things are awesome or tough He ties us closer and tighter to Him. Our life comes from the broad to the narrow and he ties us in the middle to prepare us to go out from there and the cycle continues. I just didn't know that the knot would be so tight sometimes! I'm ready to discover the 'what's next' in my life...but maybe I'm not quite tied tight enough just yet.

Overqualified

Being overqualified isn't as cool as it may sound...especially when looking for work and being open to new experiences. I had two interviews this week (one at UPS and one at Cobs Bread to be an early morning baker) but the fit just wasn't right. Not that I couldn't have done the work (quite easily, in fact) but they said it would take several months, if not a year, to train someone for the position -- and, they could see through me that if something better came along, I'd jump at it. What they don't see, however, is that I'm willing to work and not only willing but in NEED! I know that God will provide because he always has, but it's hard! And, if you haven't done it for a while, sending out resumes isn't as easy as it may sound. It takes a lot of time, effort, research and detail to get it just right for each individual place and that's where I'm losing momentum to keep pumping those out.

My car is up for sale again...and for real this time! I'm taking 'Financial Peace University' from Dave Ramsey at my parents church and it couldn't be at a better time. So, selling my car just makes sense and then I can start building wealth from scratch on my way to becoming and living debt free! Thankfully I don't have much debt (most of it is my car!) so I'll be well on my way to financial freedom -- especially after I land a job!

I couldn't be in this current position without the support of my family where I'm completely relying on them for food and shelter (and more). Mom and Dad have offered for me to work at their store to pull weeds and what not so, I'm off to do that. There's a lot to be said for being able to wake up and have a day of work in front of you...especially a day free of rain!

Freedom from Facebook

I have a friend named Hillary. Although we rarely see each other or speak to each other, we have a history. Our parents grew up together and we were born two days apart from each other, so, it’s just plain and simple that we were born to be friends regardless of what happens.

The other day, Hillary challenged me with her decision to lock herself out of her facebook account. Big deal, right? Well, it is and I applaud her for it! It got me to thinking, “lucky her…she’s no longer consumed by the falsity of this social network that we think is so real”. If you stop and think about it, the whole concept and incoherent ‘value’ of facebook has really plummeted. I hated how I always have to ‘check’ and see if anyone ‘out there’ thought of ME…or thought MY post was funny. Don’t even get me started on the ‘snooping’ and ‘creeping’ aspect. Do you actually think we are building HEALTHY relationships through this socially degrading waste of time?

Now, granted, I’ve connected with old friends and far-away family that I never thought I’d be able to see again or that often BUT the awesome part there is that once we connected FACE to FACE, we continued talking and seeing each other. What a concept. The flip side is be’friend’ing someone for the sake up upping my friend count so I can creep on their page and see what they’ve been up to for the past 10 years is NOT cool. Facebook has taken my most valuable asset away from me and that is my TIME. Once it’s used up for the day, I can never get it back. Not to mention they own everything I put on there…yikes!

There is a somewhat spiritual side to it all too. I’ve been able to hide the importance of my relationship with Jesus Christ on facebook because it can appear to be uncool. Well, you know what? It IS cool and I would WAY rather spend more time with him becoming a better person then sitting here waiting, wishing and hoping that someone out there, ANYONE, would just write something on my wall, or comment on a picture to see how COOL my life is compared to theirs. Wow, that is so unbalanced to what I believe and want my life to be about. This might be a surprise to some but it’s really me and I’m pretty sure if you liked me before and didn’t realize this, you’d still want to be my friend.

Truth is, I have hurt people with facebook and I have been hurt because of facebook. The deeper reflection for me is that it’s not worth it. Life is a race, not a game and I want to live in such a way as to “find out what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10) rather than what pleases my social network.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

After a few days of contemplation, I have decided to delete my account. I don’t know the specifics of how to do it but I'm going to figure that out and it’s going to happen soon. Facebook does not and should not own me. I want to be free from the burden that I put upon myself and my concern for what others think. I want to read more. I want to see people face to face. I want to live my life! I will keep my blog, I do have email, I do have a phone and in actual fact, I have a pulse…you should check it out! Hooray! Let’s celebrate the fact that we all have a life worth living and go do it without having to boast about it for false, incorrectly spelled praise!

Think about it.

Training

Have you ever trained for something so well that when the time came you were just ready??

I've spent most of the summer eating more than I should and not stopping when I'm full. I've barely done much exercise and my eating pants fit just right. I've just come off watching the Ironman ALL day so I'm ready to be on my feet for a long period of time. I couldn't be more ready for what's ahead tomorrow...

The PNE!!!

Yes, I will stand in line for mini-donuts and a whale's tail.

Yes, I will consume more than one hot dog...especially saving 'room' for my midnight dog on the walk out of the park.

Yes, I will stand in line AGAIN for mini-donuts and a whale's tail.

Oh, the heart burn.

Let my training pay off -- I've never been more ready!

It's official

With a statement like that, you'd think that I have my life a little more put together...but, don't you worry because I DON'T!

What is official, however, is the fact that I am not going back to Kansas as a youth pastor. When I was visiting down there in June, an opportunity came about to meet with a board of elders at a Mennonite church in Hesston to fill a need at their church for six months. It seemed like a perfect fit, really. The paperwork was going to be the issue in getting a Visa in time. If it was meant to happen, it would've happened. Because it was taking longer than we had thought, we decided to set a date of August 31 that if, by some miracle, the Visa came in I would fulfill my commitment. It didn't happen...so, that's why it's official. I'm staying here in the Okanagan and am looking for work -- a career change, perhaps! I have resumes out and am excited for the opportunities ahead of me...and by that I mean, I'm looking forward to making money again! Things have been a little tight (understatement) since I've been unemployed since the end of March. BIG time thanks to my family who have taken me under their wing and let me sleep at their place and eat their food. Mom doesn't even cook with cheese and I don't want to leave!