Climate Complaints

Last month was the second-wettest June in recorded history in our area. While I appreciated the cooler-than-average temperatures, I was ready for the sun to come out after three weeks of thunderstorms every day. It was difficult not to complain. I mean, when you have a toddler who likes to go, a brand new swingset in the backyard and a pool down the street, and yet are confined to a few hundred square feet in the living room, who could blame me if I did? I made a conscious effort to appreciate the fact that we were finally not in a drought, but some days the complaints slipped out.

This week, summer has finally shown its face. The swampland we affectionately call our back yard is drying out, and it’s warm enough to swim without going into hypothermia. You’d think I’d be thrilled, right?

And yet, complaints have already begun to rumble in my heart. Man, it’s too stinking hot to play outside! Oh, it’s so humid, I break into a sweat just walking to the car! Now the electricity bill is going to kill us…

Paul says he learned the secret to being content in any circumstance. It’s hard for me to think about Christ being sufficient for my climate complaints, but He satisfies every need I have.

So, today, I am thankful for air conditioning and a house that protects me from the elements. I’m thankful for clean water to satisfy my thirst, water that comes directly into my house, on demand, ready to drink. I’m thankful for a refrigerator that keeps my food from spoiling. And I’m thankful for my daughter who is dancing around with a bucket on her head, saying “Hi, Dog!” to her stuffed animals and entertaining me as I type.

A Few Things I've Been Up To...

I mentioned I was working on some shower invitations. Here's a look at how they turned out:




The sun came out today! The humidity was thick, but we ventured out to the zoo with a friend.


Are the monkeys on the inside or the outside?


Close encounter of the gorilla kind.


Yes, I let her lay on the ground to feed the bird (just long enough to take a picture!)

All's quiet on the western front...

Sorry it's been so quiet here. We've been off wreaking havoc over in LL's living room, and I've been trying to get some baby shower invitations ready to go in the mail. Definitely more on Community and other things this week!

Happy Fourth of July!

Although this might have been a little white trash...



(Yes, that's a rain gutter attached to a smoker)



It sho' wuz some good eatin'!



Dessert was good; but it had nothin' on this sweet moment.

Who says you shouldn't eat spaghetti on a first date?

Photo: Twirling, shmirling; go for two hands! (2007)

What your car says about community

Generally speaking, I'm against bumper stickers. And I think a limit should be set as to how many you can have on your car. Like, if you can no longer see the bumper of your car, that's too many.

Now I have been known to laugh out loud at a bumper sticker before, but for the most part I’m tired of seeing Calvin peeing on a truck brand (or kneeling at a cross) or a reference to your smart kid and his or her school (or how your kid beat up that kid). And occasionally, one really makes me mad; such is the case as I traveled home two days ago.

Picture it. You’re driving along, minding your own business, toddler in the back chattering happily. A nice tan Cadillac, with a middle-aged gentleman approaches on the left side and begins to pass you. Then his bumper practically screams in your face: "Abortion doesn't make you UNpregnant. It makes you the mother of a dead baby." (and in red!)

Seriously? Did the vehicle owner look at that bumper sticker in the bumper sticker store and think, “Man, thank goodness I found a sticker that so eloquently expresses my very thoughts!”? I’ll try to give the benefit of the doubt - that it’s just misguided passion for an important issue. But Mr. Tan Cadillac man, please scrape that sticker off!

When we decide to prominently display our opinion on our shirts or blogs or bumpers, we need to remember to speak the truth with grace and love. Sometimes we get so caught up in speaking our mind, we undermine the very point we’re trying to make. In the example above, the car owner is obviously trying to persuade women to not get abortions, but do you think that’s an effective way to do it? Not really. Most likely, it would make a woman considering abortion angry or frustrated. And does a woman who has received an abortion experience God’s grace and love through those words? Does heaping on more shame and judgment draw her to Christ?

If we want to build community (and God’s kingdom), we need to be careful with our words, always seasoning them with an extra measure of grace and love.

Good times...

What could be more fun than your daughter throwing up in her carseat, two separate times, due to coughing?

Oh, yeah..Spending two hours in the local children's hospital ER and getting home after midnight because your daughter needs more powerful breathing treatment than you can give her at home.

Throw in a healthy fear of nurses, doctors, respiratory specialists and all other hospital employees, uncontrollable sobbing off and on for an hour and a half, and you have yourself a REAL party.

It was so much fun, I felt left out that I'm the only one in the family without asthma...

Restoring Community - Part IIIb: Sharing Stories

LL made the following comment on the previous post: "I think it's interesting to consider that stories can either bind us or tear us apart. I hadn't really considered the latter."

I just sort of threw that statement at the end of my last post, but I think it does deserve additional attention. When I said they can tear us apart, I meant it on several different levels.

1) When we tell ourselves stories about individual people (aka make assumptions) it can often lead to issues where there are not and separation when it's undeserved.

2) When we tell others stories - true or not - that are hurtful to those in the story (aka gossip and slander), we tear our community apart.

3) When we tell ourselves as a group (or individual) stories that dwell on the negative, we can destroy ourselves. For example, telling ourselves we are failures, even based upon our history, can produce a vicious cycle. Or even one of my friends who wrote a business book says this of corporations: "(Storytelling) is often misused in organizations to reinforce and protect their weakness. Furtherore, an organization that has a habit of telling a high percentage of negative stories about itself is in danger of being destroyed from within." (Corporate Legends and Lore, Peg Neuhauser).

Storytelling wields great power, and should be used intentionally to build up community, not recklessly without thought.

Restoring Community - Part IIIa: Sharing Stories

At Mount Hermon 2007, the keynote speaker, Dick Foth, talked about a concept called “history giving.” He said that we connect with others by sharing our stories. As we give our history to others, we invite them into our lives.

History giving highlights things we have in common, points of natural connection. How many times have you been to a conference or on vacation and started a conversation with a stranger, only to find out you once went to the same school or you know the same person. Instantly, the person no longer feels like a total stranger because you have a common history.

History giving also illuminates things that are unique about us. When we share our life stories, we reveal things about ourselves that people never knew. We provide more information that helps each of us see things from the other person's perspective. We gain a deeper understanding of each other, why we each act or think or talk the way we do.

To truly give our history to another person requires being vulnerable and completely honest. Quite frankly, if we’re going to strive for community, then it must be you and I who initiate the history giving. We must be willing to put ourselves out there, knowing that others may hold what we say against us or think less of us or (gasp!) even not like us. It’s hard, and sometimes the repercussions really hurt. But I firmly believe that if we don’t break the chain of superficiality in relationships, then it will continue. We haven’t really created a safe place for relationships to deepen until we share our lives with others.

Once we’ve begun sharing our stories, we also must be willing to hear the stories of others. Learn to ask questions, and then learn to be quiet and listen. We’ll talk more about this side in a later post.

By the way, I’m sure it’s no coincidence that this topic is being discussed in the blogosphere. Stories are powerful in teaching us, binding us or tearing us apart. Check out LL Barkat (and here), Charity and Lynet’s for more thoughts on stories.

Okay, then. Go forth, be vulnerable and give your history!

Photo: An exciting Saturday afternoon (2007)

LINKED to this Post: Pat's comments on Why didn't you warn me?

Radio Commentary

On my way to and from a meeting tonight, I heard a few things on the radio that require comments.

1) You cannot use the word "mall" in a rock song. It totally threw me off to hear the singer talk about seeing a girl he used to love "at the mall."

2) Since when did country music start crossing over so much? I mean, just because you put a funky beat to it or add some electric guitar riffs, does not mean it is fit for a non-country station. I'm afraid you just can't take the "country" out of country music. There's a reason I have no country music stations preset on my radio.

3) Okay, this one is for my local friends. Dawson McAllister on 106.1? Seriously? For those of you non-locals, 106.1 is the radio station that plays Top 40, hip-hop/pop music like Fergie, Timbaland and maybe a little Daughtry. The weekday evening program usually features such deep call-in topics like "Are you hot?" and "Kiss and tell." I suppose it's a good thing...but very odd.