Tuesday, June 30, 2015

the decision to legalize gay marriage

I was really sad to hear the news about legalizing gay marriage when I was at work last week. It reminded me of in 1 Samuel (8) where the people begged for a king, and God warned the people thru Samuel that he would be a tyrant, and they didn't listen. They begged for a king, and so God gave them what they wanted. And it reminds me of another verse. 2 Timothy 4:3: "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." I was also saddened to see the many supportive posts of Christians that I know, and the silence from leaders and pastors. I know at the church we visited, they didn't mention it. I think that is cowardly. Decisions will have to be made at churches if they will perform a gay wedding ceremony. There will be much fall out and consequences from those decisions. I don't think you can just say "love wins" and move on with your day. If you believe the Bible, then you are saying sin is ok. Proclaim it. Support it. Celebrate it. And again, sin is sin in the eyes of God, I struggle with other sin issues, as does every human sinful being, but you can't just say legalize stealing, murder, lying, etc and that will make it ok. Again, an issue where I don't feel I have the words to convey my thoughts. I read many pro/and against articles this weekend, and these were some of the snapshots that I thought worth sharing.
2 Corinthians 4:4: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
My heart goes out to those who struggle with this issue. I hope they can find the freedom through Jesus to be able to get out of the web of lies and sin.
Addendum:
These are mainly my thoughts based on responses I've seen from self-proclaiming Christians. God's laws are for His followers, and one cannot expect unbelievers to follow them. I also read an interesting article last night that made mention of other sexual sin, example pre-marital sex, which is equal sin in God's eyes, and one that is rampant in our culture, including in many churches and gets hardly any attention compared to the 2% of the population that identify as gay. Sin is sin to God.
Some verses to encourage:
Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
1 Peter 2:9 - But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Romans 12:1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.
2 Corinthians 7:1 - Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
1 Peter 1:16 - Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

the sad tale of a little bird

Doug and I had a 'friday date' last friday since he had the day off and I was working the weekend. It was wonderful. We drove to Menards to pick up the stuff for our bathroom renovation project
got lunch at 5 Guys, and then we took the kayaks up and kayaked on the lake I hope to live on someday.
There it is.
My dream house.
Or maybe I should say "dream property" since the house is 750 square feet and is probably infested with animals. Regardless, said dream is many many years of saving away. But I can think about it.
And speaking of lakes, yesterday I went over to a friend's house and we had such a wonderful day grilling, and wakeboarding, and watching the Bachelorette, I am loving this part-time schedule!
And yay for moms who slap a life jacket on their kids and still go out wakeboarding and skiing themselves!
anyway, back to my sad tale...
So friday on our way home from kayaking we stopped at Liz and Mark's to visit and Liz promptly tells us we have to save a baby bird she found.
Poor little guy.
We called the shelter by our house to see if they could take him but they were already closed. So after some googling we found out what they could eat and it strongly recommended not taking the bird away because 9 out of 10 times the mom will come back for it. So we fixed up a little nest
Now I have to say this husband of mine is a keeper. I cut up a little apple and Doug minced up a dead worm we found and he tried to feed the bird with a little fork.
We couldn't get him to eat and he just nestled into his blanket. So we put him close to where Liz found him and went home.
Another reason my hubby is a quality guy, he took me to get my favorite icecream Eskimo Kisses and then dropped me off at home so I could shower and get to bed early for work, and he drove back to their house and worked with Mark for 2+ hours in the dark on this nightmare yard flooding problem they've been dealing with because he felt bad for Mark.
Liz said the next morning our little bird was dead. I felt sad. What is wrong with that stupid abandoner mom?!? But felt a bit better he was at least snug and cozy and wasn't eaten by a wild animal. RIP little bird.

Monday, June 22, 2015

grow garden grow!

I am attempting my very first veggie garden
a second attempt at dill
potted a lavender plant and got a flower that's supposed to help repel mosquitos (...um..yeahhh....maybe if you had acres of it)
since I don't have much yard in a sunny spot that isn't over the septic field we got some planter boxes and put them on a 2x6 and then on cinder blocks. My thought was that they would be above the groundhog
transplanted my little green pepper seedlings I've been growing indoors since April
and my little tomato seedlings
I also planted sunflowers and snap peas in cinder block holes along the fence.
But alas, the groundhog was already spotted munching on something. I was inside and saw him from my window. I screamed and Doug ran out there in his socks with a baseball bat. Lucky for my poor eyes the groundhog ran back under the fence and I didn't have to watch him get batted to death.
I told Doug I don't want to be responsible for the groundhog's death, I just also don't want him to eat months and months of my work and hope.
So while I was at work this weekend Doug was googling how to keep out groundhogs. He found they don't like the smell of humans and so I got a text saying he put a bunch of my hair from my brush around the garden and he pee'd all around it.
And he started building a fence. It wasn't quite done by nightfall so he tells me "I'm going out to pee in the garden again", thanks babe! haha
But now it's done and even though it's not the most beautiful backyard, it is pretty sturdy little fence and hopefully will give my veggies a chance to grow
We've got kale, colored beets, tomatoes, and green peppers
so funny I planted all the cinder block plant seeds at the same time and one block has stuff 2+ feet high and the others are still so teeny, it looks like a bell curve. Hopefully some more will grow
Lastly, my new peony plant made just one flower. Mom says she doesn't think it will bloom. My aunt said I wouldn't get any flowers at all the first year after transplanting them, so I felt lucky to get this little bud at all.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

weekend with friends

Our friend Josh was in town this last weekend taking a break from his medical residency in Virginia, and made the most of the opportunity and hosted a friend's BBQ night. Doug and I spent Saturday morning cleaning and food prepping and then we went with some of my nursing co-workers to see Jurassic World. So good! It was very entertaining and good plot and I liked it a lot. Then we came home and friends started showing up. It was a good time to break out some of the wedding registry serving stuff!
First there was this egg I used in my potato salad, would this have been little chicken twins!?!
TJ's sweet and spicy pecans, crackers, and peach tea with lemon
pasta salad even Doug ate some of (he picked around the fresh tomatoes!)
pretty serving tray
assorted cheeses
pretty platter
Not pictured: our friends!!! :( I am failing in my photography opportunities. But it was a good time, we chatted, ate together, more talking and laughing. We never made it to the games but it was nice spending time together and seeing Josh (and other friends as we don't get together too regularly anymore)
The next day Doug and I visited a new church he picked. We both really liked it and the people were super friendly and inviting us to their young marrieds class. It was funny because the book they are going thru next is a book we received as a wedding gift and haven't started yet, a sign?! We still have several more churches we wanted to visit first, but it was good to have some promise.
It's only Thursday and I can't remember the rest of the weekend, but I think it was good!

Saturday, June 13, 2015

the last hug

My 5 year journal reminded me of something 3 years ago. My last hug with Andrew. Most times now as I'm putting in few lines about the day before bed I only read maybe last year if anything. It has been fun to see recently how last week was one year ago Doug proposed! But last night I read at the top and read about how Andrew had come to our apartment after he moved out to pick up the last box of something he left behind. We walked out to his car and I asked for a hug.
Hugging had been "our thing". Our first real hug was after the trip we took to Costa Rica with my sister, such a fun, fun trip. The 3 of us had such a good time. At the end of the trip I had started to like him, but he had already told me he didn't like me. Anyway, as he hugged me after the trip (and my sister even commented on the swaying of our backpacks in her maid-of-honor speech at our wedding), I felt like maybe there was something there. We continued long hugs all the way until that day he said he wanted a divorce. Then he never touched me again.
Reading that last night I was instantly transported to that day. Standing there in the parking lot. Our divorce court date was just a month away at that point, and I was still hoping and praying he wouldn't go through with it. I knew it would be our last hug. I held on, and so did he. And I remember asking him how he was doing, and he said 'good'. And he asked me, and I said that someday I would be. Eventually I broke off the hug. Wiped away a couple tears and off he went.
Obviously our divorce went through and I have never heard from him or seen him since. But even reading that last night I still wonder how he could just have walked away.
So last night I read that and had a tear or two. Doug came in from the bathroom and there is no hiding a single sniffle from him!
I don't know, maybe you have to be divorced, and then lucky enough to have found love again to understand. There is no way I would trade my marriage and life and future with Doug, but there is still that part that is sad for the brokenness of what was.
I wanted to talk to Doug, but it seemed like it had to be a delicate balance, I didn't want to tell him I was crying about my ex-husband and have him worry that I regret anything or whatever. I'm so thankful Doug is different. He is secure in what we have, and he reminds me of his commitment when I need reminding. He listened to me and by the end of the conversation he had me laughing and he was telling me "you are mine". And once again I am reminded of how blessed I am.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

glorious weekend

Man I love not working weekends, something I won't take for granted anymore! Doug and I slept in Saturday. On work days he's up at 4:30, and me at 6, so I never see him in the morning. We went to the farmer's market held at the place we had our wedding reception, and then went to the farmer's market in Rochester. We ate tasty muffins, me: spinach artichoke, Doug: oat apple. Talked to a farmer about buying a 1/4 cow for organic meat, and got some fresh produce. Then we headed out on our bikes along a trail. A trail that just so happened to lead to the cider mill. So we had some donuts and laid on our blanket by the river.
We came home and started up our new grill
I got these Field Roast veggie dogs this vegan blog girl is always talking about, I guess they finally made it to the Midwest (from West coast) because I saw them at meijer finally. $5 for 4 dogs, kinda pricey, but tasty and a healthy option.
Then we met up one of Doug's friends at the outdoor mall for free Bocce ball.
There was live music and it was just really fun.
Then the friends came back over for a late night BBQ. Where we realized our new grill is too small! Perfect for 2, but not for 4 and with lots of sides. It ended up being a 5 course meal with burgers/dogs first, then grilled veggies, then baked potatoes, then grilled corn-on-the-cob and finally grilled peaches with ice cream. Yum. We had a bonfire and sat out talking together, it was fun.
Sunday we started 'our new church hunt'. Not really looking forward to that. But Doug's church of 10 years doesn't feel like home to me, and he didn't feel that challenged at mine. Although he did come for a 3 month trial (vs the every other Sunday we had been doing), and he liked it, I think we both feel it's time to find something together. So we had another friend come with us, and then we went out for lunch with her afterward. Hopefully it won't take too long to figure stuff out.
Doug's old roommate had a bday party at the park in the afternoon so we headed over. We got a park pass so I hope for lots of bike riding/rollarblading/picnics in the future! And then when the weather got stormy we headed over to a friend of their's house for games. It was fun.
Came home and mom and dad had stopped by with this gorgeous bouquet, peonies, my favorite!
Then we headed out to dinner with Liz and Mark and used our free taco coupons. Such a fun weekend!

Saturday, June 6, 2015

My first (and maybe last) fix

So I took the plunge and joined Stitch Fix, I thought it would be fun to be 'styled' and I keep reading about other blog girls that were doing it and seeing their cute fixes. So you log on, make a profile, and tell your stylist what you like and you rate a bunch of outfits on their website so they get a feel for your tastes. Anyway, I've been so excited and today it finally came
The mail lady came just as Doug and I were headed out for a Saturday of farmer's market shopping and bike riding. I ripped it open for a peek before we headed out.
Fun, bright colors- such promise!
I had told my stylist that I wanted a little help in the wardrobe department, but that I am a salvation army girl at heart and it would be hard for me to keep anything in my box over $40. They made it seem like there was a wide price range of items for every budget. How it works is you can pick the categories of clothes you want, I chose 'date night' and 'casual' since I always wear scrubs to work and don't need anymore business casual. I told her we were going to Alaska soon and maybe some trendy travel outfit would be nice. Anyway, this was my fix:
out of everything, I think I liked these dark navy skinny jeans the best. But when I saw the price $98, um nevermind.
The shirt was kind of pretty, but sheer and a bit sack-like. And $50.
This shirt had such a fun pattern, but so frumpy. I can't spend $40 on a polyester shirt made in China. Stuff like that is at Marshalls all the time for $12.
Those big drapey cardigans don't look good on me, I like the color, but another $50 no.
My last item was this 'date night' dress. I liked how it looked in the back
But I didn't like the pleats, Doug didn't like it at all either. Plus I would have thought of a more fun color for spring/summer
So off all of it goes back. If you keep nothing you just pay a $20 styling fee. So it's not risk free, but it's not crazy either. I think I might give feedback on the site to my stylist and try one more time. I like the cute outfit idea cards they give you
and I really like the marketing too honestly. My card was like "Anne, these classic skinny jeans are perfect as you're walking around in Alaska and cover up with this cardigan when it gets cold"
And I like the idea of someone trending up my wardrobe a little and encouraging me to try new stuff. I guess this is as close as it's going to get since I don't live with Jill anymore and don't have her stream of fashionable outfits to try to copy off of ;)

Monday, June 1, 2015

handy wife??

Doug and I are back at the home stuff again. We had a very expensive Lowe's cart this weekend. Our lawnmower died, and this time we opted for a new Memorial wknd sale one at Lowes instead of our usual craigslist. We also got a grill (thanks Lindsey for letting your grill research footwork!) We actually went for a smaller one, it looks definitely big enough for two and some friends as well. Doug has been reading The China Study (he's listening on his drive to work, I'm reading it) and he told me the other day he's willing to eat less meat and more veggies. So that's big news. We are excited to figure out how to grill :) Doug also got a leaf blower for use around our house and in his gutter cleaning business. We got another laundry tub cover (fatty September broke the last one jumping up on it), this one is sturdier. Speaking of September, that sneak keeps losing her collars outside! Another collar and tag gone. I really want her to wear it while she's outside in case anything happens, plus I had a little bell on it to hopefully give poor critters time to get away from her, but she keeps ditching them. Maybe it's time to go to the pet store, I keep getting the 'small' at meijer but apparently she is an extra small!? Anyway, the other thing we got was a new entryway light. While I was visiting Joel he suggested I do some of the house repairs.... excuse me? Moi?? But I gave it a go the other day while Doug was studying
ugly gold light - you're outta here!
I got to here when wouldn't you know Dad stopped by offering to blow off those thousands of little helicopter seeds that fell from some tree onto our porch, I asked if he could help me with the light install instead, so ta-da!
I was pretty proud
Today I'm off work after my work weekend (I hate working weekends while Doug is home). It was stressful yesterday with my patient deciding to leave AMA (against medical advice) and then in the elevator changing his mind to come back. I was in there almost 2 hours, thanks for the extra paperwork man!
So, I'm thinking about working in my garden today.
That strange budded bush on the side of the house finally bloomed, and it's actually really pretty!
(bonus: sweet note from husband)
But I am very discouraged about my 'black-thumb'. This is my dill I tried to grow
wah-waaaaah
My friend Rachel said 'dill is actually really hard to kill, that's why it's called "dill-weed" '. Well, hmmmmphf
The farming/gardening gene appears to have went from Grandma to mom and then was not passed on any further.
Here are my little tomato and green pepper babies I've grown over the last 8+ weeks
They seem too fragile for Michigan Mother Nature's cruel twists of pounding rain and then scorching sun. I set them out on the deck in their containers and I can see them from the window blowing in the wind. Hang in there babies!! Rachel said hers have been in the ground outside for weeks now, so maybe it is sink or swim time.
Other than that Doug and I are enjoying spending time together when we can. We rollarbladed/he biked thru the park behind our neighborhood the other day and spent a whole day together on our day off. That was nice. It's funny, there have been a few times when he knows what I'm thinking (especially when it comes to food). This happened last night:
me: (walking into kitchen to get the 2 cookies from the oven) bad news babe
Doug: 5 minute backrub I know what you're going to say
me: ok, what was I going to say?
Doug: sorry but it looks like you won't be getting a cookie Doug
me: (hilariously laughing) yup, sorry *mouth stuffed with cookie*
Not my fault his cookie line disappeared. It is funny how many times Doug requests I can make something up to him with a 5 minute backrub. Lol.