So here’s the spheel, I’ve totally dropped the ball on this whole blog thing. For my 3 readers, I’m sorry. I blame a mixture of 3 jobs, the 405 fwy, and a lack of Heather time. Yesterday, we came up with a new list:
Things that are actually amazing in their true form, but have become tackfastic due to certain people groups overuse of them.
dolphins
hibiscus flowers
sea shells
nautical stars
sparrows
butterflies
birds
Lighthouses
sunsets
sail boats
80's (an 80’s business party would be OK)
Fleur de lise
Tuscan decor
Things that are so misused, they have no chance at coming back in our lifetime:
sunflowers
roses
smiley faces
Yin yang
red and black
pink and black (plaid exception)
Paris
pirates
Uncle Sam Wins!
Budget Wins!
Dear 80mph,
I miss you…65 just doesn’t feel right. I feel so out of place in the far right lane- people over here are crazy and their license plates are from far off places. My car feels tired and sluggish… I hate this, I hate myself.
Cut backs have to be made; I’m setting my cruise control so it’s out of my hands. Until gas goes below $2.50, I can’t see you anymore… xoxo, cin
For me to be happy with this blog, there needs to be posts in between the Red Flags of the Week. Well, here it is Thursday and I haven’t written a darn thing since last week. Truth be told, I traded palm trees for pine trees and headed on vacation with the family up to Hume Lake.
While there, I observed 2 very distinct groups: the staff (some in their early 20’s) and young couples (late 20’s???). I wondered to myself, which group do I belong in? Who do I identify with? Should I be out on the lake with a kayak or running around chasing toddlers? Should I have packed (and by packed, I mean gone out and bought) my Capri pants (where do you even buy them, and who told every mom to get them?) with a baggy of cheerios for the bundle of joy on my hip? My friend Stine asked, “Well, who’s ipod would you rather listen to?” and then smartly realized neither, since I was at a Christian camp.
All this to say, sometimes I feel like I’m in the wrong stage of life…but I also don’t actually want to be in the other one. –Not for the sake of being there. My hope is that when I meet my wave link companion, it will seem like a good idea to cross over to the other stage, and worth the loss of freedom.
Speaking of the search, I decided when I started this thing that it was a bad idea to write about anyone that I’m dating, or have dated in the past year. A couple of my guy friends said it would make for better material, and suggested I give them nicknames.
Well…I’m going to keep thinking about it and I’ll let you know if there is anything blog worthy after tonight. Yep, I said it tonight. Tonight is date #2 with…. let’s call him s.type and see how my conscience sits with that.
She's nobody's girl
Cj
Justin: “Hey, do you PVP?”
Austin, whom I call Hufflepuff: “I mix PVP and PVE”
Me: “What the?”
Hufflepuff: “Player vs. Player & Player vs. Environment, duh.”
Me: “You better knock that off or you’ll never get a girlfriend.”
Listen, I get it: ALL guys play video games. What you need to know is that there are 2 types…those that speak about it, and those that don’t. Consider it a complete warning sign if they let you know this leisure activity takes place at all. If they mention it as something they are interested in or tell a story that takes place at game stop, proceed with caution.
I’m going to go ahead and say that there is a direct correlation between the amount of video games guys play and the amount of girls they are not getting. It’s a classic case of when you are winning, you are loosing! For my male readers: I don’t care if you are riding dragons around killing nubz with tier 8.5, if you can’t get through a conversation with a girl without talking about it, your real life toon (the doll they create to play with) is dead meat.
Please enjoy the live footage from today!
Today was brought to us by Hufflepuff, but the song is dedicated to Chi in NYC!
I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes,
cj
1. Anyone who plays the guitar
I can't play the guitar. I can't do anything except for type and make guacamole. Ergo: I have always kept my women away from dudes with "axes."
2. Dudes who can, like, change your valves
It's even worse if he's a guy who knows about cars and is all humble about it.
3. Your older brother
See above.
4. Your friend's boyfriend
You know, the guy you always mention when we're being idiots. "John never does that to Jenny," you say. Man, when John comes around we're really on our best behavior.
5. The kid you went to high school with and was your best friend for a while but you never dated because he was kind of nerdy but now he's gained some weight and is super successful and you realize you really missed out with that one ...
Am I the only one who has encountered one of these with every girlfriend?
6. Marines
Man, a Marine started talking to my wife at a bar not that long ago. And I thought: that guy could kick my butt, tell a heart-rending story that would make her cry, and ask to be called "Captain" all at once ... I don't like him.
7. Your father
Especially if he was a Marine, a firefighter and a mechanic who also plays the guitar.
Earrings
Dude
“Did he just call me dude?”
If a guy refers to you as dude, take this as your cue. Either he is not interested in you in that way or he has just come from a very long day of watching sports he doesn’t play, killing it at guitar hero, and eating HotPockets.
This week’s red flag is a double-edged sword b/c you must also ask yourself if you are being called dude because of something you are doing. Are you:
a) wearing Chacos or flames
b) holding your sunglasses on with a Karokee
c) accepting invitations to watch this guy participate in any of the activities mentioned above
If you answered yes to any of these, you have brought this on yourself.
**Disclaimer: Red flags are not always deal breakers. They mean to serve as a point in which you should stop and ask yourself, “Does this signify a deeper problem?” Red flags are also limited to things people choose to do, not things in which they have no control over.
(Posted at Stine's request. Read her @ www.stinefarmer.blogspot.com)
All summer, our church has been taking a good hard look at the book at Mark. What has stood out to me; is this sense that Jesus was incredibly focused on His mission. I picture Him going around, head forward, zoned in on His purpose. He is bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, and this is what He is calling his disciples leave their nets to do.
Meanwhile... as Jesus’ focus is narrowed in, I’m completely distracted by a million things outside of His scope. I want a car that doesn’t suck, clothes I feel pretty in, safety, clout, and a good for something husband…essentially a nice life. Don’t get me wrong, I do deeply want to serve God; it’s just I want to serve Him from within this life I have dreamed up. I think somewhere along the line, I had created a loop hole that went something like, “If I am serving the Lord now, He will bless me with the future I want.” (classic misread of Jer 29:11) What makes me think He doesn’t want me to leave my dreams and expectations as well?
I’m by no means ready to make peace with all of this; it’s painful to imagine letting go of some of my dreams. (not to mention the fact that I have no idea how to really give them up anyway) But what's my alternative? I picture myself trying to run around creating my own life, and ending up in a tangled mess of ties to things that are empty and meaningless in light of God’s mission to heal and redeem this world.
cj
Chains
Gold chains, silver chains, white gold chains, platinum chains, large chains, and small chains should be ditched. Trust me, you aren't pulling it off. Everything may be all good and in the right place, but as soon as that bling peaks through your collar; it throws you into a category there is no coming back from,
Acid Washed Jeans
Also known as light jeans, often have bonus features such as the hammer sling and extra pockets. These are not your hipster urban outfitters jeans; think more, “Oh these? I think my mom picked them up at old navy a few years back, they are super comfortable.” A particularly foul line of these pants come in boot cut and feature pre-cut holes, fray, and sometimes even bedazzle.
You know what the midwest is? Young and restless
Cindy
**Disclaimer: Red flags are not always deal breakers. They mean to serve as a point in which you should stop and ask yourself, “Does this signify a deeper problem?” Red flags are also limited to things people choose to do, not things in which they have no control over.
So when I started this blog thing, I had no idea how it would turn out. As of now, I haven’t written about anything serious (mainly b/c I think it would be lame and cheesy, and oh well, I think my 3 followers and Daimal are the only people reading this anyway) but thanks to the June gloom, I can’t shake the following topic:
It all started with a message I heard in church last Sunday. The pastor described how the Bible uses two words for time: chronos and kairos. Chronos is the typical use of time: seconds, minutes, days, etc. Kairos has to do with the idea of the fullness of time, a time when God is present and active, or when chronos time stands still and we remember the moment forever.
Earlier this week, over coffee at our kitchen table, I was telling my roommate Heather about a time in high school when I served a detention with my best friend because I didn’t want her to have to go by herself. I realized that since she has passed away, every chronos moment we shared together is now a kairos moment to me. There isn’t a place in the world I’d rather have had lunch than the P4 math portable that day. It was just a normal hour, but the memory is extremely valuable to me now.
As I continued to think about this throughout the day, I realized that that kitchen table coffee (and tea for Heather) was actually a kairos moment too, if I chose to see it that way. Heather’s friendship means the world to me! Every minute I get to spend with her is a complete gift. I need to stop going through life distracted and realize that I am constantly in the midst of kairos moments; where God is present if I am looking for Him. He can redeem my mundane moments, and any minute spent with someone else is precious. I don’t want to wait until someone is gone to realize how lucky I am to be sitting across the table (or school desk) from them.
Closing my phone and laptop,
Cindy
Well, needless to say, I'm not Hispanic;) and I feel that my, for all intensive purposes, white suburban culture has taught me to be a little less obvious. We've been told that "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach". For whatever reason, I have always resisted this idea. If we went to college together, and you were a girl baking for a boy, I was most definitely talking bad about you behind your back. I have always believed that I would never bake to get a guy's attention, and that he would love me for my mind and personality. Well, last week I found myself baking up a frenzy, and sinking for the first time to these 1950's tactics. I searched high and low for award winning recipes, and even did a practice run in order to impress a guy (well his family really). I figured I may as well wave my progressive white flag and follow in the steps of my female predecessors. As I left the house that evening, feeling like my pies where the stuff 50 year anniversaries were made of, I was sure that I was finally going about this the right way.
