Closed Door

This is Gracie.

Gracie is good cat; however, her current stage in life seems comparable to that of a teenage girl.

While Gray Cat is personable and wants to be everywhere we are, Gracie loves us but only on her terms.

Lately, Gracie has been quite the isolationist. At the end of the day when my husband and I settle down in the the living room for the evening Gray cat settles down with us, usually in a box in the same room. Gracie, on the other hand, chooses night after night to settle down in the bedroom on the bed. She just doesn't seem to want to be around us.

Longing for Gracie's love and attention, one evening we decided to conduct an experiment. We calmly picked Gracie up from the bed, closed the bedroom door behind us and situated her in the living room with us. So far she has handled our tough love/forced interaction okay. 

Her ears and  eyes stay alert though, waiting for the first sign of an opening door. Maybe, just maybe, one day Gracie's love will for us will be a little more intentional and deliberate.

30 Posts 31 Days

Today is post 30 of my 30 day challenge to post a blog a day!

I almost met my goal, I think that in this case we will call almost 'good.'

30 posts in 31 days, not too bad.

Okay, I'm finished with bragging now.

The journey has been a good one. I've learned that if we really enjoy doing some type of hobby or activity and yet we seem to never have time or make time for it, then it is good to challenge yourself and make time for it.

All of a sudden when you make something a priority you realize how many things in your life (facebook, tv, netflix etc.) suck your time right out from underneath you. All of these things are ultimately empty. How much more worthwhile is it for us to spend time doing, creating, being who we were created to be?

Nonetheless, the past 30 days have been good but they haven't been a piece of cake. Towards the end of the 30 days I almost quit.  After all, sometimes if not most of the times, plopping down in front of a TV show is way easier than using the extra energy to be creative. Some of my days were going by with little if anything going that would be interesting to write about. My thought about this was 'why write if I have nothing really to say.' My husband then informed that it was my choice but.... True writers write even when they have nothing to write about. No guilt in that statement.

So, I pressed on and had some good posts and maybe some not so good ones too. The 30/31 days are up now. I am glad that I challenged myself, now to only keep up the hard work of keeping myself in line!

I still plan to blog some, maybe not on a daily basis, but a post here and there is highly likely.

Perspective

Ever feel like you are hanging on for dear life?

The first time I saw this squirrel balancing on this bird feeder holder there were two hungry cats hanging out underneath him.

I was surprised to look out the window one afternoon and see the squirrel out on that holder again but this time no cats. He was calm and looked like he was just taking it easy, enjoying the view from high up and way out.

I'm glad that this squirrel found peace with this holder and tree and isn't forever associating it with being chased by hungry cats.

Likewise, maybe it is good for us to occasionally view life from a new perspective, even if it means being pushed into it.

The Origin of Spaghetti

Throughout life lately I have noticed how God truly is the creator and originator of all things.

For example the mirror. Man created the mirror right? Well, God created the puddle or the water that reflects the object that it sees long before man figured out the manufacturing of glass.

My most recent realization of God as creator of all things was today. Today I made spaghetti squash for lunch.

As I was dishing out some deliciousness for my husband's lunch, I took time to observe this squash. Once fluffed up and left sitting in its shell it is the God created, original, healthy, good for you version of a bowl (that's right, God created the bowl too) of spaghetti!

There is nothing that we can create that He hasn't already created. God is so incredible and must take so much pleasure in creating. God in His love created us in His image. Part of His image is creator, so we too can partake in and enjoy the act of creating.

Although God holds the true patent on all creations, I'm sure that it brings Him so much joy to see His creation living life creatively and as  image bearers of Himself for the world to see.

Mind over Matter

Wim Hof, aka 'the iceman,' is known for his mastery of withstanding extreme cold.

Breaking the ice endurance record by staying immersed in ice for 1 hour and 44 min, attempting to climb Mount Everest in only his shorts ultimately falling short of his goal due to a foot injury and running a full marathon above the polar circle wearing only his shorts are just a few of Hof's astounding feats.

Hof claims he is able to control his body temperature by simply using his brain.

Amazing.

Our Brains are such incredible instruments that God has created us with. Our brains can either work for our good or cause destruction.

I once heard a mentor say 'whatever you focus on magnifies.'

It is so true. If we use our brains to focus on negative, worrisome things then negative, worrisome things will capture our mind and ultimately will affect our actions as our actions flow out of our thoughts.

The opposite is true as well. If we focus on positive, good things then our actions will produce fruit according to those thoughts.

Taking it a step further than positive or negative. If we as believers choose to focus on Christ, then He will be magnified. He will captivate our minds and attention and He will be who our actions flow from.

So, lesson for today: Mind over matter.... what you focus on magnifies so focus on the positive, the good. Focus on Christ.

Postman

Today I witnessed a rarity. True, authentic customer service.

The exchange happened at the post office.

There was one elderly man in front of me. He walks up to the counter and the Postal work says 'why hello Mr. So and so. What can I do for you today?'

The customer says 'well, I need to give this piece of mail back to you.'

'Oh, that's not even near your address now is it? Okay, I will get that to the right place.' said the postman.

Super simple exchange. What made me smile was how kind this postman was. This elderly gentleman was obviously a common customer. He comes by often enough for the postman to remember his name and address.

Even though the postman takes care of some pretty mundane tasks, you could hear the kindness and the 'I like my job' in his voice.

Definitely an example to strive for. To live extravagantly loving and serving others in every circumstance whether the circumstance be common or once in a life time

Multiple personality

Personality, so much personality!

Fierce!

 The snuggler

Easy going 

Comedic

Photographer

Reader

Play mate

Sipping Tea

 Ever had one of those moments where a taste, smell or sound triggers a memory?

Today I was sipping some tea and it took me back to a few summers ago all the way on the other side of the globe.

I had the opportunity to spend the summer in Central Asia, with a wonderful local family assisting with English camps for the kids in the community.

Moments spent with my host family were probably the times I treasured the most. We spent lots of time together and we drank lots of tea together.


The weather was hot and the tea we drank was equally scalding. This was something I didn't quite get. Why drink something hot when the weather is so hot? Doesn't it just make you feel hotter and sweat more? In the end, it didn't really matter what I thought; drinking tea was customary so we drank tea after each meal no matter how hot it was or how much we sweated!


The more tea we drank the more I became accustomed to drinking a hot beverage on a hot day and the less I really cared about it. Sitting down for tea became less and less about the tea, although the tea was delicious, and more and more about taking time to share our lives with each other. How I cherish those moments.

It is way too easy to get caught up in life and forget all about how we are created to be relational beings. When we neglect to relate to one another we miss out on something great that we were all created for- relationship.

May we take time this week to stop and smell some roses, sip some tea and share with a friend.

Calling

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

Genesis 11:31-32

I once heard a pastor mention these two verses in a sermon about the call of God on our lives. You may be wondering how these verses could make any point at all, they seem rather insignificant. 

The pastor suppposed that the call that Abram received to leave his homeland and family (a few verses later) could have possibly been a call given to his father, which his father didn't carry out.

According to these verses Terah and his family were from Ur and at some point they packed up and left on a journey towards Canaan, the place that God would later promise to give to Abram. Why would Terah uproot his family to go to an unknown land? Is it possible that before calling Abram God first called his father?

Let's suppose that God did call Terah to go and he went. Well, what happened? On their journey they traveled through Haran and settled there. They didn't make it to Canaan and Terah died there.

Sometimes God calls us to something specific. We hear the call and head out on a grand adventure, just like Terah. Along the way we may make a few stops. Some of these stops are awful comfortable. We begin to reason that traveling on the road is dangerous and really no place for a family and we forget the original call. Before we know it, we have settled in a real comfortable place and have an enjoyable life but have neglected the call of God.

God's call isn't always comfortable or easy. Jesus says that broad is the way that leads to destruction and narrow is the way that leads to life. More often than not, God's call travels on a narrow path. It is not a path that the world would choose, only someone who truly believes and trusts in God knowing that the end result will be worth the present lack.

May we strive to live our lives following God all the way to the finish; not letting worries, wealth, comfort or desires of the world deceive us thus keeping us from experiencing God himself and the fruition of His plan.

Sundays

Sundays are good for one thing. Rest.

Growing up, Sundays always consisted of going to church together, coming home for lunch and then letting the afternoon sweep you off your feet to far far away nap-land.

It seems like no matter how hard you would plan and strive to be productive on a Sunday the chances of plans being interrupted by a nap monster were highly likely.

I think rest is good. After all, God did rest after He completed His creation. If God rested, how could we expect to not need rest. Not only that, but part of the law for the Israelite people was to set aside a day for rest and worship. Rest is important.

In our world today, it is easy to get caught up in so many things that we are run ragged. Our things own us and the things we do rule our lives instead of God being in control.

Rest is good because it is a way to set everything aside and say, 'We trust You God to take care of us today. We rest in You knowing that you are in control of the world and that you are much more capable of handling our life than we are; so for today, I am going to set back and rest in You.'

Whatever day it may be, may we always find time to truly Rest in our Father's presence realizing that sometimes there is no greater thing we could be doing.

Many uses of a box

Boxes are definitely the toy of choice in our household. Our cats love boxes. I hear that this is the case with children too. Who cares what is inside of the box, it is limited; but the potential of a box, now that is limitless.

According to our cats, the sky is the limit when it comes to what you can do with a box and a little imagination.

You can hide in a box.....

 

 Pretend to be a new creature in a box...

 You can play with a friend and a box....

You can fly away in a box...

You can be friends with a box....

Or at the end of a day, you can snuggle real good with a box.

Stars

He determines the number of the stars

and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit

Psalm 147:4-5

  God knows everything about each individual star, even their names. If God cares for the stars in such a way, how much more must he care for human beings.  His created image.

I am so thankful to know such a wonderful, relational God. Out of the 7 billion people on the planet, God knows the 7 billion names those people are called. When He calls, He calls us by name. God knows us, may we strive to live our lives to know Him.

If you give a cat some chicken.....

If you give a cat some chicken.........

He will probably find a way to get some more.....

He will consider the risk, by taking a sniff....

And then go in for the score!

In our house you have  to watch your plate or something may just end up missing.

Our evening routine usually goes like this. Make dinner. Sit down for dinner and an episode of Star Trek (I know kind of dorky) and inevitably be joined by our cats.

The key is not to give them a taste until your plate is almost empty. If perhaps you cave in, giving a cat a bite, then the chance of having a peaceful dinner is highly unlikely. Your dinner time will look very similar to the progression of pictures above.

First a cat will try to hide behind any inanimate objects on the table, example: salt and pepper shaker.
Secondly, as you take a bite and your eyes off of your plate, the cat will get in as close to the action as possible all the while considering the options. Lastly, at the opportune moment a cat will go in for the steal with a swift move of the paw.

As yo can see, our cats are very clever. So next time you see a sign that says 'don't feed the animals' take warning and don't feed the animals.... or at least wait until your plate is almost empty.

Feet Covering

First freezing advisory = end to flip flop weather.

Such a tragedy! Flip flops are by far, in my opinion, the best shoes out there. Flip flops are cheap, allow your feet to breath, are easily removable and the next best thing to walking barefoot. Who could want more?

We all know that for the most part, trotting the globe these days with no shoes would be unacceptable to most. Those who would consider such a dare would risk the possibility of foot fungus, being labeled a hippie or a multitude of other awful consequences.

I personally can't help but think that if God created us without shoes then we probably can make it through our lives okay without them.

Can you sense my disdain for shoes?... That is except for the most minimal shoe out there, the flip flop, which for the most part shouldn't even be considered a shoe.

My family can attest that up through High School I would wear my flip flops year round. I would waltz into my Sunday school class wearing flip flops with my Sunday best in the dead of winter and immediately have a Sunday school teacher threaten to buy me some boots. My immediate response: no!

With time, I have come to realize that shoes may very well be a necessary evil, at least for the winter season. So, we will see what happens in my quest for appropriate foot covering.

Maybe I will splurge for some big furry boots or I hear that you can make a real minimal shoe out of a tire, that could be worth a shot. Maybe just maybe, I will tough it out and wear my flip flops and hopefully make it through the winter with all of my toes!

Chasing flies

Seems like I spoke too soon.

Here is where humbleness and grace enter in.

I missed a day of blogging yesterday. The super strong headache medicine that I took yesterday took away my headache but made me pay with being light headed and nauseous. Don't worry, I believe I'm feeling better this morning.

Off to a good start this morning. I have my cup of coffee and the cats are chasing flies.

Chasing flies is the excitement of their lives. Fly hunting is rather entertaining to watch. It all starts when an unfortunate unsuspecting fly or bug thinks that they will find refuge in our house. Little do they know that our house is home to two cats who are mighty bug hunters who won't stop until victory is theirs.

So, unsuspecting fly enters. Cats see fly with their keen vision and proceed to follow the fly around. Occasionally this results in a cat jumping straight up in mid air to catch its prey. Finally, the fly lands. A cat can be seen moving in slow motion, a maneuver used to get in the proper attack position, and then when the target is in sight.... pounce!

With the taste of victory still in the mouths, the cats usually wander around the house the rest of the day in search and in hope of finding some prey they can capture.

Yep, welcome to the fun that happens in our house!