Freedom!

This Saturday is just barely getting started and I am already thinking about next Saturday.

Our Saturdays for the last couple months have kicked off with Upwards Basketball - a great Christian sports program for kids. We loved our first experience with Upwards.

But that schedule has left me longing for a free Saturday morning - sleeping in, no schedule, complete freedom. It has only been a couple months since we had a free Saturday, but I can't recall what that even feels like.

I can't wait for next Saturday - freedom!

Life Imitating Art?

My husband started telling me a story the other night - a true story about someone I've met a few times who lives in another state.

He first heard the story over the phone. I watched him as he listened to it and I could tell it wasn't a happy story.

When he started relaying the story to me, he looked grave. I expected the worst. I braced myself for something tragic... but it never came. 

I got lost during the story he was actually telling because I was anticipating something else. I told him from my perspective, after all the mysteries that I have read, a story that starts with a person coming home and finding something unpleasant usually ends with a dead body. Thankfully, this story had nothing to do with death or bodies. I was so relieved, I had to breathe for a few minutes before having him start the story again so I could relax and hear what had actually happened.

But it did making me wonder about my brain - about how conditioned I have become to expect fictional endings to real life stories. I felt pretty stupid that I had assumed something so horrific. Unfortunately, though, my "fictional" endings could very well have been true. We hear such things in the news all the time.

It would be nice if "fictional" endings just stayed in fiction. Thankfully that was the case for the person in my husband's story.

Feeling Under the Weather

No blog post today - been feeling under the weather. I should be back on schedule Thursday.

Best Holiday Ever

My favorite holiday of the year is just around the corner - Easter.

I love it. I love that it is all about spring - new beginnings, tulips, sunshine, warmer weather.


I love the treats - Reese's Eggs. Need I say more?

I love the traditions - egg hunts, new clothes, singing Christ the Lord is Risen Today. 


I love the images - the disciples gathered, a thief forgiven, feet washed and bread broken.

I love the spiritual message of resurrection - death defeated, second chances, grace and forgiveness.

Christmas is great, sure. Jesus, coming as a baby. Joy to the World. Sharing gifts. I enjoy it, but for me it pales in comparison to Easter. Sure, if not for Christmas, there would be no Easter, but, Jesus' arrival, while miraculous, doesn't have the same punch as his departure. 

So, what Spring holiday is your favorite? Why?

Spring Holidays

As spring "holidays" go, St. Patrick's Day isn't my favorite. 

As a kid, I always looked forward to a trip to a favorite restaurant for St. Patrick's Day. I enjoyed the best cottage cheese in the world while watching grown ups drink green beer. And they did drawings for prizes and I often went home from one of those celebrations with a new stuffed animal.

Now, though, it seems to be more about remembering to wear green so as to not get pinched. Not much fun as holidays go. 

Come back Saturday to read about the best holiday all year.

Fun idea for scrapbookers

Author Joanna Campbell Slan writes a mystery series with a scrapbooking/paper craft theme. I have read the first two books in the series and really enjoyed them.

Ms. Slan has written a dinner mystery - called A Crop to Die For - staring the main character from her series.  It can be performed for groups, like a scrapbooking/crop group or as a fundraiser. Check out the details here. I think this looks like loads of fun!

For the love of....

I read an article the other day in a magazine about the author, Meg Cabot. It referenced something from her blog here. The question she was asked is why she studied art in college when she liked writing so much. She says, in essence, that someone told her not to because her love of writing would die in a college writing program. (She adds that, instead, her love of art was sucked out of her.)

When I was growing up, I always thought I would be a teacher. By high school I had decided that I wanted to teach music. A couple years into college, I didn't want anything to do with music. I changed my major and moved as far away from music as I could.

What is that about? What is it about college that sucks the love and life out of a passion? Does it only happen in the arts, or does it happen in other areas as well? How does a young person discern what passions should remain hobbies and what ones could be turned into a career?

Lent, part 4

I have a friend who decided this year that she wasn't going to give something up for Lent, but instead she was going to add something. She is sending out a personal note - hand written - every day, telling someone in her life something she appreciates about them. I received one of these notes, and it was very meaningful and special. 

When I give something up for Lent, it tends to be a personal thing. My family may notice as we often give up the same thing, but otherwise, it is just for me. But giving rather than denying is a whole new way of looking at Lent for me. Personally, I think it is a great way to live out Christ's compassion for us, offered through his death and resurrection.

So, what do you think about alternative celebrations of Lent - not giving something up, but maybe adding something or reaching out in an intentional way?

Lent, part 3

A friend from church confessed a week ago that she had already "blown it" regarding what she had given up for Lent. That got me to wondering. What does it mean to slip on a commitment like Lent? Is it a commitment between you and God that you have "failed?" Or is it more a matter of good intentions? What do you do when you slip? Do you pick back up with it or do you give up all together?

I'm always tempted to just give it up, but my husband usually reminds me "Jesus didn't quit when it came to the cross..." and how do you argue with that?!  =-)

So, what do you think it means when you make a mistake during Lent?

Lent, part 2

When I give something up for Lent, it tends to be more about finding discipline in an area where I have none rather than a sacrifice related to Easter. And it works. Something about Lent and the spiritual motivation makes me stick with it in ways that I wouldn't if I were just trying to do it on my own. But if it is just about discipline, is that really the point of Lent?

What do you think? Did you give something up this year? Why?

Lent

Lent is the season - 40ish days - leading up to Easter. Easter is my favorite holiday of the year, and Lent is all about preparing for that celebration.

I have been thinking about Lent lately - about the whole idea of "giving something up" for the season of Lent. I didn't grow up in the church, and when I started going, it wasn't to a church with a tradition of Lenten celebrations like that. So I am still making my way through what I think about that, and why to do it. 

How do you celebrate Lent?

Gas Station Farkle

There is a game on Facebook called "Farkle." It is an online game played with 6 dice. You "roll" the dice (on the computer) and hope you get dice combinations that are worth points. You claim the ones that are worth something and then you can choose to quit that turn and hold your points or roll the dice you have left to try and earn a few more. As soon as you roll something that has no point value, you lose the points you had for that turn all together - you get a "Farkle."

So, when you get down to the last couple dice you have to decide if you want to risk the points you have so far on that turn to see if you can squeeze out a few more or if you want to play it safe and move on to your next turn.

Buying gas anymore is just like Farkle. You watch the price drop by a few cents every day and you start to watch your gas gauge. You wonder if you can squeeze out one more day and a few more cents savings before you gas up again. Never mind that the 4 or 5 cents you might save only translate to 40 or 50 cents for 10 gallons of gas. It is the principle of paying $2.45 instead of $2.50. 

Unfortunately, like in Farkle, sometimes you push your luck too far. You decide to wait one more day, or wait until after work and the price jumps 20 or 30 cents per gallon before you get back. You just rolled a "Farkle" at the gas station. It is annoying as anything, going up with usually no rhyme or reason. All you can do is grumble at the rising price on the pump or stay home for a few days while you wait for the price to drop again. And it will drop again, sucking you into another game of Gas Station Farkle. 

Good luck.