A Wife Loved Like The Church

I came across this book by Jennifer Shawne about a year ago. I flipped through it and it proved good for a few laughs. I think what I found most humorous was the “nicknames” she gives to children, such as yard ape and poop factory. While I do want to have children at some point in my life, I still thought it could be fun to list out some of the great reasons for still being child-free. (Disclaimer: For all you parents, this isn’t meant to poke fun at you or your delightful children, just a reason to remind myself why it’s pretty awesome to not have kids, just yet).

10. My car windows are sticker free.

9. My house stays clean. And if it doesn’t, it’s only my own fault.

8. It only takes me 15 seconds or less to get into my car.

7. I can sleep all night long.

6. When I’m around my friends, they ask about me.

5. If I bake a batch of cookies, I don’t have to share them with anyone. 🙂

4. I can stay out super late and never worry about putting anyone, other than myself, to bed.

3. I can go on trips with my husband and not miss a soul.

2. I can safely go down my stairs.

1. I can honestly say I have never been thrown up on, burped on, pooped on, peed on, and for that reason, I generally smelly pretty good and my clothes stay cleaner.

I’ve been listening to the radio (via the internet) at work for the past few weeks. I have tapped into a christian station located in Seattle, that plays a really good variety of songs. Anyways, the other day I heard an ad for match.com. I didn’t think anything of it, at first. Then a few hours later there was another ad (I’m assuming from a local church in Seattle) saying how the world has really focused too much on casual dating and that sites such as match.com go against God’s desire for His children to trust Him with their future mate. Huh? Didn’t this station just play a match.com ad? And now you’re telling people it’s not good? I think what has me even more confused is that I continue to hear these same two ads day after day.

Is it just me, or is this sending a mixed message? You should trust God for these things, but if you really want to, you can go to this one site. You should trust God with your life, but if you’re not going to, you should at least use this one product.

And something even more interesting: Match.com’s theme is “It’s okay to look”. Is it now really? I’m pretty sure Jesus would disagree (Matthew 5:28).

They also have ads about credit cards, buying homes that are too expensive for little or no down or debt consolidation (everything anti-Dave Ramsey) followed by ads for handling your money properly and in a way to glorify God.

I’m just really disappointed by this station. It offers so many good things (songs, verses, testimonies, etc) but then it continually does these handful of ads. I’m sure it boils down money, but is it worth it? Is it worth contradicting what God says so that a radio station can reach more people? I don’t really think so.

I read this really funny story on MSN today.

I can just picture what this might have looked like from the bystander’s point of view: In walks a large group of soldiers, decked out in fatigues holding deadly weapons, into a country so small it doesn’t have it’s own army. Then as the soldiers look around they start wondering, why is everything here not in Swiss? Did you see a sign pointing us this way? Did we just invade another country? They shrug their shoulders and head back the way they came.

I tell ya, it’s straight out of Monty Python.

When all your power goes out?

This weekend proved to be a lazy time, as my trip to Chicago was abandoned due to the threat of an ice storm. Lindsy, Amanda and I decided we should still leave work early and hang out all the same. We went to a movie (Night at the Museum – pretty funny), and then drove an hour to Mount Pleasant to eat at a restaurant that turned out to be in Mount Vernon (only 20 minutes from IC). All the same it was fun, and we found a yummy Mexican food place in MP.

Saturday brought on more movies and a nice long nap. When Jonathan and I woke up, we realized we had no electricity and the ice was now 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick outside. No problemo, we’ll just go to the mall. Or not… As we walked down the stairs to the garage, we realized, uh, garage doors need electricity, don’t they? But would that really stop Jonathan? No. By candle light, he managed to unscrew the right screws and the door was open. Off to the mall we go! Or not… Turns out the mall thought weather bad enough to shut down the city was bad enough to shut down the mall. Dang it. But at least Best Buy was open, and that made Jonathan quite happy.

As we sat watching the weather on the nice TVs we called everyone we knew in search on electricity. Lucky for us, the Bovenmyers we up and going, so we went to their place for the evening to watch a ridiculous movie (The Producers) and eat pizza and ice cream. Unlucky for us, we came home at 11 to find we still were without power. Oh well! At least our water is run on gas so we could be sure to have hot showers in the morning.

Sunday came more relaxing than Saturday. We didn’t have church, so we slept in (which unlike in our college years, actually only means till 8 for me and 9 for Jonathan). Then Kara M. came over for lunch before Jonathan and I went to see the movie Amazing Grace with other Eastsiders. Amazing Grace (for those who don’t know) is the story of William Wilberforce who lead the abolition of slavery in England. It was a really good movie, although there were some parts that I didn’t quite believe (but that’s just me…). All in all, I’d recommend it.

Finally last night, I began picking out pictures for our scrapbook. From the last year? No. From the wedding? No. Surely not from Europe? Yes, yes indeed. It has taken me over 2 years, but I am finally sorting through our Europe photos. And let me tell you, it is no easy task. I am so not looking forward to next year when I decide to finally put together the wedding album.

I’d say it was a really nice weekend. And I really wish they could all be so lazy. 🙂

Lately I’ve been thinking about how the devil tries to divide and conquer God’s people. What does that really look like? To me it seems like it would be very obvious, where you can see the breaking point and know what exactly changed course. But I’m beginning to realize that our enemy is much too sly and clever for such an open attack.

“Your enemy the devil prowls like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Perhaps division comes from believing one small lie. Something that seems very plausible (‘You shouldn’t say anything because you don’t want to receive undo attention’) or even half true (‘They don’t fully understand what you’re going through’).

We begin to dwell on that lie, thinking that it’s true, that our fellow sisters/brothers might not be fully for us, and it soon the lie becomes a “truth” we believe. Slowly we withdraw, we begin to doubt the faithfulness of friends, the sincerity of those nearest to us, and completely ignore the outer circle of sisters/brothers. Before we know it, we are isolated, making ourselves prime targets for direct blows from Satan.

“Keep falsehoods and lies far from me.” Proverbs 30:8

We need to take action against this form of attack. Find Scripture that will expose the lie, and fill it’s place with truth.

“For your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” Psalm 26:3

Perhaps my fellow believers might not fully understand my hardships, nor maybe I might not tell them everything, but they can still help me all the same.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

In view of my life the last few weeks, I’ve decided that I need to write a blog purely about things that fill my life with joy. Enjoy!

1. Jonathan. Whether it be when he is trying to kick the ceilings, chasing Madeline around the house, laying on the couch watching movies, or making me the best Denver omelet this girl has ever had.

2. My friends. When they dress up in miss-matched clothes, send me postcards with verses, buy me Little Debbie cakes, email me random videos, or continually co-author a story about gophers.

3. My family. When they call just to say hi. Or to make fun of me.

4. My God. For giving me everything I will ever need. For sending His Son to be my Savior. For blessing my life more richly than I deserve.

Here’s a little video that made me laugh. If you know me at all, you’ll understand why I think ridulously silly things like this are funny….

So it snowed. Which shouldn’t be any surprise, seeing as I do live in Iowa. But it has actually been rather warm here lately, so we’ve all been wondering if we could make it through the whole winter snowless. Then last week it snowed buckets, and then again this weekend. And I must say, I’m loving it!

Yesterday morning Jonathan and I were on our way to the bus stop. We walk through the park, since that is the closest way, but it leads us up this huge hill. Hills in snow = really hard. Then, on our way home, we take a different route (different bus, different stop). As we were walking home, we realized we were going up hill. Ha! Up hill, in the snow, BOTH ways. And to make it even better I was in a skirt. Yes, yes, it was too good to be true. So now, I can tell my kids that I actually did have to go to work, in the snow, up hill both ways. So sock it!

And in some amazingly wonderful news….. I am…. drum roll please…. going to NEW YORK!! Hot dog! Our friend, Michel, from Holland, is coming to the States in April for work. We decided that we would meet up with him in D.C. and then travel to NYC for the majority of the week. We bought tickets today (which were an awesome deal) and will be leaving April 14th. I cannot even begin to say how much I adore New York. And the fact that I get to go back to D.C. is a sweet added bonus.

How, might you ask, are we getting from D.C. to NYC? Well, by the Chinatown to Chinatown bus of course. By now, Jonathan and I are old pros at this way of travel. Hopefully this time around we won’t have such a loooong experience as last time.

P.S. Being a Windham rocks my socks. I love my husband and his travel going ways.

Not yet, but hopefully by my 25th birthday I will!

I have decided to take a French class on Thursday nights for the next 8 weeks. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this new endeavor. I’ve always love French, and while I was in Paris I thought it would be so cool to learn. So, I’m doing it.

And in addition to my purely selfish motive of wanting to sound super cool, I’ve been praying that God would allow me to meet at least one girl/woman to build into while I’m taking the class. I’m looking forward to Him allowing me to use this time as outreach for others. Sharing the Gospel and learning French all in one night?! Can’t beat that with a stick.

The past four weeks have dealt me some pretty low blows. And just this last week, the hardest one of all has hit.

My beloved and wonderful puppy, Judah, passed away. He meant more to me than I can ever explain. He was a faithful companion, dear friend and showed me what it meant to love someone other than myself. He will forever be missed, and never forgotten.

I wanted to use this blog as a tribute to some of my wonderful memories of Judah.

– The first day I saw Judah was August 28, 1995. My aunt had given him to me as a present. Now, the story of Judah is a wonderful, faith filled story. I had prayed for a dog for 6 months, with no answer in sight. And then one warm Sunday afternoon, my aunt came to visit. Unbeknown to me, she had gotten me my dog. When I ran out to the car, there Judah lay in the front seat, asleep. I grabbed him, and seriously didn’t let go for months!

– For the first 4 months of Judah’s life, I carried him everywhere! I’m really surprised he learned to walk/run so well, because I would never let him go! I loved just holding him and cuddling with him all day long.

– I use to take pictures of Judah while he would sit on my bed and I would lie on the floor. He would lean over the edge and all his fur would bunch up around his face, making him look like a lion (hence, why his full name is Lion of Judah). I have one of the cutest pictures in my guest bedroom with us doing this.

– Early on I found out that Judah LOVES the Beatles song Hey Jude. I sang it to him constantly. And every time I got to the part where Paul says “Judah, Judah, Judah, Judah” Judah would go crazy.

– We use to play “Hide and go seek”. When I was at home, I’d open the garage door, throw his ball or stick into the side yard, and then hide somewhere in the garage. He was so smart, because after he found me, he would always check that spot first on the next go round. We played hide and go seek for years. Our last game was on Tuesday, January 2, 2007. I hid in the closet. 

– Judah loved to swim. One time though, he got into some serious trouble when he went swimming in my parents’ neighbor’s pond. They had ducks. Judah wanted the ducks. The neighbors were not very happy about that one. We had to get into the pond to get Judah out!

– Another funny Judah story was when we took him swimming in the pond across from our new house. There were loads of ducks and he wanted to swim after them. We figured what was the harm the ducks would just swim away. However, there was one duck that didn’t. Judah kept swimming after this one lone duck, which lured Judah out into the middle of the pond. Just as Judah got close enough to grab him, the duck disappeared. Jonathan and I were looking at each other, then at Judah, and then at where the duck had been. Nothing. Poor Judah swam around for another five minutes completely dumbfounded.

– Last winter when it was really cold outside, we would take Judah to some elementary school playground in Coralville. Jonathan and I would sit in the car with the door open, throw the ball for Judah and then shut the door till he came back just so we could stay warm.

– Some of the silliest pictures of Judah are when he would play in the snow. One picture was taken after he dug through a huge snow pile. His whole face his covered in snow and you can tell that he had the time of his life.

– Judah loved his fuzzy bone. No doubt about it. That puppy took that dirty old stuffed bone everywhere! It was like his security blanket. It was the cutest thing ever.

Those are just a few memories/stories that I have from Judah. He was the sweetest dog that I have ever known and no dog will ever replace him.

I love you, Judah Ben.

Jonathan and I attended Faithwalkers this past week (December 27-31) in Osage Beach, Missouri. This is an event that happens annually in our church, and was the second one that Jonathan and I attended. Last year’s was moving, and by the end of the week, I could really see where God had grown me in my faith.

This year was not the same. My heart, while yearning for something, felt heavy and sorrowful. Every session found me praying that I would get some amazing nugget of truth to carry me through the year. And every session seemed to disappoint me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a wonderful time, filled with amazing worship and amazing lessons from men who have proven to be faithwalkers. But each time I left feeling dry, and numb.

The last session was taught by Mark Darling and was about God being your refuge. Throughout his whole lesson, Mark was real, raw and brutely truthful. I hated it. I kept thinking “Why on earth would you ever want to tell 1800 people you’re losing your mind?” As he continued to talk, my heart hardened. I didn’t feel like I needed to hear this, since I knew I had God as my refuge. Sure, I might not be crying out to Him, but still, things were under control. Shoot, this is me we’re talking about, things are always under control.

At the end, Mark suggested that we get by ourselves and cry out to God. I went back to my room, grabbed my Harry Potter book and settled in for a nice relaxing evening. But there was something tugging on my heart. I had this feeling that maybe, just maybe, I didn’t have God as my refuge. Perhaps I really did rely on myself, or Jonathan, for comfort and not God. So, I thought I should get real with God.

I went down by the lake, and sat there for what seemed a lifetime. I couldn’t speak. My heart was so heavy, but yet I couldn’t even form words to say to God. The only thing I knew to do was write. And once I started, it was hard to stop. I yelled, I screamed, I cursed. Finally, I cried. I cried out and ask God why life felt so hard. Why things happen, that should never happen. I wondered where He had gone, and why He wasn’t there to comfort me. My heart was breaking, and it felt as though My LORD was no where in sight.

I went back to my room, tears still staining my face. Things are different. Not really good, but different. I’m struggling to understand who God is as my refuge. What it means to truly cry out to Him. The past three or four days have been a huge challenge. I’m feeling attacked from every side. I’ve cried more since Friday night, then I have in years. But last night, I did something that I haven’t done in years.

I came home, after learning some heartbreaking news, and went immediately to God. I can’t do this on my own. Jonathan can’t help me. My friends can’t help me. I can’t help myself. I have to be broken before I can be fixed. And God is allowing me to break. But all the while, He is right here, standing as my refuge.

Here are some verses that I have found in the last few days-
Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”

Psalm 2:12 “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”