Alone With God

Every time I kneel to pray,
I open up my heart to the Lord.

Every time I close my eyes,
I feel the awesome power of my Lord.

Every time I see a child,
I know the gentleness of my Lord.
I don't know why so many things
seem to get in the way
of seeing my God's glory.

But I try every day
to see and to thank him
for all the things he's given me.

I was listening to this song on my ipod, and I just LOVE it. The section I made larger especially speaks to me. I often forget to look for God's hand in everything, and when I just SLOW DOWN, it's amazing to see where he is working, and disgusting how little I acknowledge it.

When I think of the times in my life when I felt spiritually strong, I realize that they were times when I took the time to spend alone with God routinely. I began having my "quiet times" when Eric and I first got married, but of course, once I started working, and finding things to keep myself busy, well I didn't have the time for that alone time, and I now realize that it quite possibly contributed to my many stressful days - trying to do it all on my own. It doesn't work. 

This Quiet Time is something that I can remember my sweet Mimi always encouraging us to take advantage of. She lived the example of what it would be like to truly have a friendship with Jesus, and have daily conversations with him. One of my most vivid memories of her is waking up early in the morning, creeping down the hallway to find her in her chair, with her bible or devotional book and cup of coffee - and of course a pen in hand making conscious notes. She had the most incredible wisdom. When she died, quite honestly, a part of me did too. One day my Pap gave me one of her devotional books that had been sitting in the same place for a year since she died - with her notes of wisdom scrawled inside in that special Mimi handwriting. The book is called Fill My Cup Lord...With the Peace of Your Presence by Emilie Barnes. I started reading this in the mornings and I felt as if I were have a devotional with her. It's so special to me. 

I opened this book up and the first chapter is entitled : A Cup of Quietness. How perfect. The author makes the point that we are holding up our cups to the Lord, in constant need of being filled, and one thing about that cup is that it is cracked and flawed , and that is perhaps why we seem to empty out so easily. And this part Mimi double underlined: we leak, so we need refilling on a daily or even hourly basis. How incredibly true.

I need to get myself back in the habit of taking that time alone with God, and I know that seeing his hand in my life and waiting on him will come more naturally. 

Brag on Dad

This Blog is all about my Dad and how great he is. It's a bragging session.

Fathers Day is now over a week ago, but I have really been wanting to honor my Dad in some way, and since I wasn't with him on Father's Day, I figure writing a little about why my Dad is so wonderful will suffice. I am very much a daddy's girl, and I still believe my Dad is the most handsome, charming, hilarious, wonderful Dad in the world. I think of him as a combination of Cary Grant and Rocky - Charming and Goofy. Growing up, I remember him always doing silly things to crack Hannah and me up - things like laying in bed with us and snoring and "talking in his sleep" - Hannah and I used to laugh so hard we would cry. In the car, we used to always BEG him to "do the airplane", which was basically speeding up really quickly to where we flew back in our seats and felt like we were in an airplane - of course mom wasn't in the car. :) Dad's always been know to crack really corny jokes, but I always laughed at them, and as I've gotten older, we like to crack corny jokes together - I've bonded with him in that way, and I know that I've gotten his goofy side.

Dad is also the best example of what a Christian husband and Dad should be. Dad didn't grow up in the church. He grew up Catholic, and wasn't converted until high school. It's really incredible because you would never know. I can remember way back having conversations with my Dad about faith, and even though my mom is a woman of great wisdom, Dad is the spiritual leader in our family, which has been so important to me. He is always up early on Sundays reading his bible and taking notes in it. He is a strong spiritual example, and because of his example, my brother grew into a strong spiritual leader for his family.

My Dad is also the hardest worker I've ever known - could be cause he's Mexican. :) He takes great pride in his yard, and is often out mowing, or watering the lawn, or landscaping (Our yard got yard of the month one month!). He's a great handy man, and was always fixing things around the house - and still does when he comes to see me! One example is my bedside lamp that hadn't been working for months and I was about to throw it away - oh no, one trip to Home Depot, and it was fixed, along with doors that didn't used to shut all the way. He loves what he does. He's a High School Teacher and Coach, and has always put the students first. His players absolutely LOVE him and are always over at the house. He has even had players from years ago come back and express their appreciation for his caring for them in High School. One quality that I love and I know his players love about him is that, although winning and playing hard is important - his team went to state several times - his players and coaches know that the kids are more important, and forming relationships, and learning lessons make more of an impact than a state championship ring.

My Dad is the ultimate family man. Family comes first. We were never close to his family - most of them were very unhappy with him "leaving the Catholic Faith". We were it, and family time was very important to him. We were always together as a family. We are very close. One of my favorite memories is watching old movies with Dad, or some of our favorite new movies, and quoting lines. We often had family bible studies together, and Dad would read some sort of lesson from the Children's Bible, and we would sing. It was very important to him, and still is. I love it. Dad worked hard to provide a living for us. One thing that I will never, ever forget is how he would get up early in the mornings during the school year and drive the school bus so that he could make extra money for us. It's one of those things that kinda gets me choked up, especially now that I have a job, and I know how incredibly selfless that is.

My Dad is the all around perfect man, and my mom is very lucky. He treats her so well. I remember him taking me on secret shopping trips to get something special for mom. He also planned this AMAZING trip to Vermont staying at the Von Trapp Family Lodge (where mom always wanted to go) for their anniversary and surprised mom. He takes extra special care of her when she's sick. It's sweet. I am so thankful that I grew up seeing how much my Dad loved my mom. He gave me an example of what to expect in a husband (Eric is wonderful ;) ).

I love my Dad, as you can see, and I am so excited for my kids to giggle at his goofiness, and grow from his wisdom and example. Like I did. So, HAPPY BELATED FATHERS DAY DADDY. You really are the best.

Black and Whites

I just woke up from my Sunday afternoon nap. mmmm. :) As such, I always like to treat waking up from a nap the same way I would waking up in the mornings - cereal and a comforting movie or TV show. Now, "comforting"  is different for many people - Eric for example, is comforted by watching some form of ESPN sports in the morning. I however, enjoy old movies or shows - a favorite show in the mornings is "I Love Lucy" which I can watch whenever I want, thanks to my dear sweet mother-in-law, who gave me two seasons of "I Love Lucy" for my birthday. :) This is usually a favorite on Saturday mornings, and in fact, Saturdays never quite feel complete without the humor of Lucile Ball in the mornings! I still find myself cracking up at her even though I have seen several of the episodes more than once.

One episode that I have been looking for is the episode where Ricky and Fred take Lucy and Ethel golfing, but teach them phony rules in hopes that the girls will never want to play golf with their husbands again. This episode seems especially funny to me now that I am married to a golf fanatic  myself, and can feel Lucy's "pain" sometimes. I once quoted some of the lines from it to Eric while we were at the driving range and ever since, I've been wanting to find it so I could show it to him.

This is a picture of when Ricky was teaching Lucy how to hold the golfclub. It's pretty funny.

This however is not necessarily why I thought to write this. I am actually watching "Singing in the Rain"  right now. I have been wanting to watch it since last weeks's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" where one of the the couples danced to "Make 'em Laugh". It's such a classic. Gene Kelly was an amazing actor, dancer, and singer. He is one of my favorites, along with Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Kathrine Hepburn, Rock Hudson, Frank Sinatra, and Doris Day. Pretty much any movie they are in is going to be good - not the case with actors today. I think this is one of many reasons why I love old movies so much better than newer movies - not that I don't enjoy going to the movies, there's just a sence of comfort in watching a classic.

I think one of the main reasons I love these movies so much is because I grew up with them. I have several memories of watching old movies with my family. Old movies are just, well classy. The way the men are such gentlemen, so devonare - Cary Grant especially comes to mind - makes me melt. The women are so classy and chic - Audrey Hepburn comes to mind. The movies are so clean, which I am sure that is why my parents showed them to us as kids - they're safe. Everything was black and white then. Night Clubs were classy places, not trashy. Sometimes I wish life were still like that. Simple, Black and White.

 

Audrey Hepburn - so classic Cary Grant - Oh so handsome.

One of these days I'll get Eric to enjoy watching them with me, and to appreciate how special these movies are. They are timeless.  I am always excited when I find other classic movie lovers, and get somewhat excited when I'm home alone and can watch TMC to see what black and white is on.

Open to New Friendships

Thought I'd try this blogging thing out. I've always got these thoughts rolling around in my head, and even though I am married to my best friend, I am not ever able to get my words out in the way that I feel and hear them in my head. I have really never been able to speak my thoughts without sounding crazy to myself. I used to journal a lot, but I hate writing - which is no good since I am going to be teaching 4th grade writing next year! I also thought this would be a good way to keep my family up to date on my life since I live so far away from them - that has been tough. I've always been the independent one of the three of us, but being with Eric's family 24-7 makes me miss my family even more. I especially miss my sister - just having a close friend to come over when I'm alone and watch chick flicks with me and drink coffee. I miss that.

This has been a great first year of marriage, but in many ways it's been hard too. I've had to adjust to a new city, a new job, learning to cook - which is not my cup of tea, and dealing with being away from all of my family and friends - toughest of all.

I guess the reason that the main point of this first post is a little sad is that I am watching "Bride Wars" as I am typing, and wishing that I had a best friend close to me. I miss that so much, and although I've made friends here - my Tuesday night girls group has been a God send - Best friends are friendships that are cultivated over time and through many experiences. Just gotta be patient.

Here are some ways God has blessed me throuhg friendship this year:

1. My Tuesday Night girls bible study group - it's been great to get to know a group of God loving women.

2. My teaching team at school - 3 of us are around the same age, and have really hit it off this year. They are also Christians, so it has been refreshing to share our Faith with each other at work. Now that the summer has started, we have been trying to do things together, and that has been great.

3. Bonnie - my best friend from Harding. We have kept in touch, which is big for me, because I am horrible at that, and I have really enjoyed being able to talk with her and catch up every now and then.

4. My Husband - My BEST FRIEND. He is always willing to listen - and is a great listener. He is so good to me, and I am so thankful for his friendship - especially through this first year out on my own. Couldn't have made it without him.

Over all, I need to stop wishing my friends were here with me, and be open to new friendships.