I'm The Luckiest

We arrived at Young Life's Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado about a week ago for our 3 1/2 week assignment. I've never been further west than Nashville, TN so this has been a monumental trip for me. To say that this place is incredible would be a huge understatement. It's impossible to see this view and not praise the Lord for magnificent beauty. A picture just doesn't do it justice. On top of the physical beauty, there is nothing better than being surrounded by people who are loving each other like Jesus loves each of us. Every time new campers step off the bus to a glorious welcome of cheering and screaming, it makes me cry; just in anticipation of the gracious God that they will encounter while they're here. I'm hoping to get some better pictures up soon, but for now, check out my friend Leslie's blog who is also here on assignment:

http://ashevillesloan.blogspot.com/

She posted a video of the flash mob dance that took place last night at club. I'm going to try and video it from the back of the room next week to get a better view, but it was AWESOME. I am so thankful that my husband works for Young Life and I get to do things this.

For the Animal Lovers

WHAT PETS WRITE IN THEIR DIARIES


Excerpts from a Dog's Diary......


8:00 am - Dog food! My favourite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favourite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favourite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favourite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favourite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favourite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favourite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favourite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favourite thing!
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the humans! My favourite thing!
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favourite thing!


Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary...


Day 983 of my captivity...

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.

Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. FOOLS.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now......... .

My, My Heart like a Kick Drum

About 6 months ago, we decided to cut off our cable & DVR services (I know, crazy right?). I felt like we were watching too much TV and Tom felt like we were spending too much money. But of course, we couldn't live completely without TV, I mean let's not be ridiculous here. So we bought one of those converter box thing-a-ma-jigs and mounted an antenna on our chimney. Now we get about 10 channels (all of the basics) for FREE. We also convinced our friends Cameron & Megan to do it, but they live in a much bigger city and get tons more channels than we do. Anyway, we also decided to get Netflix. IT IS AWESOME. Seriously, I highly recommend it. We started out just getting 1 movie at time for like $9 a month. When you send it back in the mail, you literally get the next movie on your list within 2 days. Incredible, right? So then we upgraded to get 2 movies at a time for $14 a month. Still totally worth it.

This past week, we got Duplicity and Precious in the mail. We watched Duplicity together and I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. Decent, but not great. Last night, I decided to watch Precious by myself (Tom wasn't interested). It was very good. I would say 4 out of 5 stars. Not spectacular, not as great as I thought it would be, but still really good. It's always a little bit weird for me to watch movies like that because I hear those stories every day at my job. The real stories, from real people who are living through unfathomable things. Several people warned me that the movie was really "heavy". I cried once during the whole movie. It was when Precious was having a breakdown, crying and saying that love hasn't done anything for her except beat her, rape her, and tell her she's worthless. That's heavy.

It bothers me a little that I didn't cry more. Although, it made me more angry than sad. The brokenness of the world we live in is just completely angering. I've often worried that my job would eventually harden my heart. When you see crappy things enough, they become ordinary and not as shocking. I don't want to lose my compassion and empathy. I think those are 2 of the most precious gifts that God gave me. I believe that's part of the reason that the Lord led me into the field of social work. But if my heart becomes hardened...I'll no longer be able to do the job well that God called me to. Here's the trailer for the movie. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Dog Bios

My name is Griswald. My family and friends call me Grizz for short. I enjoy sniffing and licking people's ears. I also enjoy laundry. My best friend is my brother Red. We can play pretty rough but somehow, he's the only one who ends up with cuts and scabs on him. As much as we fight though, I love to snuggle up with him when I'm tired. My love language is grunting. I also snore a lot.



My name is Red. Sometimes my family calls me Redman. I have a little brother named Grizz who is my best friend. I like to bite his face and sometimes he sits on mine. I just recently learned that I could jump up on the kitchen counters and have tasty snacks. I also enjoy eating rawhide bones and taking my mom for a walk. My love language is whining.

Sweet Girl

This is so cute and precious. It will make your heart smile. Watch it. NOW.

For some reason, it's not letting me post the link, so you'll have to copy and paste it. :(


http://www.wimp.com/calmcall/

Spectacular! Spectacular! No words in the vernacular!

Notice anything SPECTACULAR in this picture?



That's right folks, after 18 months in this house, we finally joined the 21st century and got a DISHWASHER. It is glorious. I don't even know what else to say. I feel like I have my life back (or atleast a few hours a week). This 1920's bungalow has never had a dishwasher, so it took us awhile to find someone who would install it. We also got a garbage disposal installed. One check off the list of 5 million things we need to do to this house.

OR*GA*NI*ZA*TION

So the closet in our bathroom has pretty much been a disaster since we moved in. All of our medicines, lotions, etc. have just been thrown in together in a big bin. We could never find anything that we needed when we needed it. So on Thursday I ventured out to the big city of Greenville (stop laughing) and headed straight to Bed Bath & Beyond. I got a gift card to the store for Christmas, so I thought I'd try there first, hoping to find some organizational tools. After a lot of sorting, looking at expiration dates, and bit of forceful "encouragement" from my husband to throw some of my bath and body works collection away, this is what we came up with. The labels are courtesy of my husband.