Happy Father's Day!

Well...how fitting that my last blog was about Mother's Day and now it's a month later...already time for Father's Day...where has time gone?

My dad is pretty much the best dad in the whole wide world. I don't know that I've ever met anyone as smart as he is, he knows everything about everything. He really could have been anything in the world he wanted to be, a doctor, a lawyer, even president...but he chose to dedicate his life to telling others about God's love...how awesome is that?! It's something that I will always admire about him. When I think about my life growing up, I think about how hard of a worker my dad is. He's always given everything he has to the church and to our family. Some of my fondest memories are the trips we've taken together as a family. I remember going out in to "the deep water" in the ocean when I was little. Dad would take me out on this round float with handles and let me ride in to shore on the waves. There were times when I would totally get churned, but no matter what, dad's strong hand would pull me up out of the water. I remember all of our fun trips to Washington, DC and Williamsburg and other fun historical places (which is where I got my love of history). I remember Dad dropping me off for my freshman year at Furman and that last hug when he was leaving me behind...walking me down the aisle on my wedding day...leading Nick and I through our vows...supporting us when Nick decided to go into ministry full time, even though I know it was hard. All in all, I think my dad is the best...and here's to him...Happy Father's Day Daddy! I love you!

Happy Mother's Day!

Sooo…I’m a day late, but this was a crazy weekend. I just wanted to do a quick shout-out to my mom for Mother’s Day! I like many things about Mother’s Day, but I think that my favorite part of this holiday is the fact that it really is a time to stop and reflect about our moms. My mom is pretty much awesome. I can’t just pick out one or two favorite “mom” memories, because we do so much together. I love how every time I go to visit, we make our patented trip to Target and other random places. She knows I don’t care where we go as long as we’re hanging out. I love how she cries at Gilmore Girls and Leave it to Beaver. I love the fact that she’s always thinking about me and proud of me, no matter where I am or what I do. I love that she’s on facebook and is cool with that being one of our primary means of communication (she knows I’m not good on the phone). But most of all, I love the fact that she’s my mom. She’s always loved me and taken care of me and she always will…she’s just amazing that way…thanks mom for being so great! Happy Mother’s Day! I love you!

And Happy Mother's Day to the other moms (and soon to be moms) that read my blog...you're all wonderful!

~Blevins - out!

There's a Song in My Head...

I'm sure, just like me, you get songs stuck in your head from time to time...Sometimes, I get songs stuck in my head, that are highly inappropriate (at least, I think so anyway...) For example, sometimes I get that one song by the All American Rejects stuck in my head..."Hope it Gives You H-e-double hockey sticks." Other times I get "Baby Got Back," or a myriad of Justin Timberlake songs (whom I love), all of which have inappropriate lyrics...Not all of the songs I get stuck in my head have bad lyrics, sometimes I get songs from church stuck in my head or even television jingles...This gets me to my purpose (if you believe there is one...). I have a standby song that gets stuck in my head all the time...this song is always in my head somehow and if I'm still for more than five minutes this song starts playing in my head, and unfortunately, I only know the first part...I know you're wondering what song I'm talking about...I bet you're totally sitting on the edge of your seat...just hoping I'll divulge this wonderful song that I sing each and everyday of my life...Now, you're probably thinking that since this is me we're talking about, that this song must have some special meaning, or it must be deeply symbolic or perhaps even spriritual...Well, I hate to disappoint you, but...the song of which I'm speaking...is none other than..."Kung Fu Fighting." It's true. I have no idea why, but this song is always playing somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind. I truly don't get it, but apparently this song gets me, because it's never far away from me. I am now going to officially dedicate this post to this catchy tune that has become a staple in my life. In order to honor it properly, I shall post the lyrics here so that all can enjoy this song that I apparently love sooo much...

Everybody was kung-fu fighting

Those cats were fast as lightning

In fact it was a little bit frightning

But they fought with expert timing

They were funky China men from funky Chinatown

They were chopping them up and they were chopping them down

It's an ancient Chineese art and everybody knew their part

From a feint into a slip, and kicking from the hip

Everybody was kung-fu fighting

Those cats were fast as lightning

In fact it was a little bit frightning

But they fought with expert timing

There was funky Billy Chin and little Sammy Chung

He said here comes the big boss, lets get it on

We took a bow and made a stand, started swinging with the hand

The sudden motion made me skip now we're into a brand knew trip

Everybody was kung-fu fighting

Those cats were fast as lightning

In fact it was a little bit frightning

But they did it with expert timing(repeat)..make sure you have expert timing

Kung-fu fighting, had to be fast as lightning

And...now that I've looked up these lyrics, I realize, that I had no idea of the real words in this song...it is even more random than I originally thought, and it is officially the product of a "one hit wonder"...no shocker there...here are the lyrics that I sing for this song...over and over and over again..."Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting...those fists were fast as lightning...even though it is a little bit frightning...everybody was Kung Fu Fighting..." And there you have it folks...

~Blevins - out!

A Little Bit of Random Never Hurt Anybody...

So...I've been somewhat of a slacker lately on blogging...especially when it comes to the personal everyday stuff that's going on in my life. In order to remedy this, I thought I'd give a few "random" things that have happened to me recently...in case you wanted to know...

Random Event #1
We got a tetherball pole at school...in a word, it is AMAZING...wow, I had no idea how much I would love tetherball. Despite the fact that I have a jammed middle finger on my right hand (it's almost fully healed now...), I have really enjoyed playing and the exercise that goes along with it. It's also kinda funny to see kids get busted in the face...obviously it's not funny if they actually get hurt, but the head snapping back action never really gets old...

Random Event #2
Occurred on Sunday, April 26, 2009
So...it's been really really hot the past few days and I decided to wear capris on Sunday to church. Now...this is the first truly warm weather we've had, which means I have not been in the sun since last summer/fall. When I put on my capris, I looked down and realized that my legs looked really really white...so white that I was actually a little embarrassed...To remedy this problem, I went digging through my random toiletries looking for a little sunless tanner...big mistake! Now, I know you're automatically thinking that I turned my legs orange or that they ended up looking all streaky and you're possibly contemplating the notion of skipping on ahead to Random Event #3, but you're gonna need to read on to find out what really happened...just trust me...So anyway, I found some sunless tanner (it was the foam kind with a pump...I think it's called Fake Bake...it was actually pretty expensive...). I jumped right in and "pumped" so tanner on my left leg. It looked like it was a kinda weird color, but I went ahead and rubbed it in anyway...here's where the problem began...As I rubbed in the foam, I noticed that my leg was not really looking tan...actually...it was looking green...I kept rubbing and quickly realized, that my leg was actually turning green instead of tan. Oh no! As panic began to sink in, I decided to quickly try and wash the sunless tanner off of my leg. Well, if you know anything about the permanency of sunless tanner, you would know that it is very difficult to wash off. I scrubbed and srubbed to no avail. My leg had officially turned green! Unfortunately, it was almost time for me to leave for church and I had no other clothes prepared to wear, so I had to go in my capris with one pastey white leg, and one slightly greenish tinted leg. In my bathroom my leg didn't look all that green, however, I was at church for no less than ten minutes before my ever so observant husband (this last phrase is laced with sarcasm...he's the person who didn't notice I had 10 inches cut from my hair...on two separate occasions!), noticed something different about my leg. He asked me about it in front of a semi-large group of people, so I just shrugged it off, hoping he would take the hint, and stop asking me about it. He did not. I had to tell him that I'd fill him in on it later. Of course I told him what happened and he thought it was hysterical. He kept bringing up my leg in random conversation and pretended like it was really bruised. He'd say stuff like, "don't be upset because your leg is all bruised," which of course would then make people look at my leg...he can be such a pain sometimes...but I love him. Just another "Jennifer moment" for ya. Thankfully, I was able to exfoliate my leg enough on Monday morning that all green coloration had disappeared prior to going to work...yeah...

Random Event #3
Occurred Last Night (April 27, 2009)
As I was leaving CCC last night and heading to my car, I saw a weird "thing" on the side walk in front of my car...It looked kinda weird, maybe a little like a rock or something...Well, I as I got a little closer I realized it was a turtle! I'm not talking about a cute little turtle that you have in an aquarium and it swims around looking all cute. This guy's shell was about 8 to 10 inches in diameter with almost spikey looking things along the center of it's shell. It had a long, strange looking tail, and it was just not cute...at all (and I really like most animals...I was just not digging this turtle). Then, some of my weirdness began to set in. I quickly became terrified to walk to my car. I ran inside to get Nick and he came out to see what the big deal was. He agreed that this was a very strange thing to find on the side walk in the middle of a business park in White Marsh. I asked him to touch it to see if it was ok. Nick nudged the back end of the turtle with his foot, and it did this weird thing where it stuck it's butt up in the air. I jokingly asked Nick if we had found the missing link because when the turtle stuck his butt in the air, his long creepy tail became even more noticable. After observing the turtle for a moment, Nick walked me to my car and I got in feeling pretty safe (even though at one point on my way home, my shoe fell off and when I felt it touch my foot, I panicked, thinking it was the turtle...I know, I'm insane). Then tonight I saw a fox run out in front of my car...I'm feeling like I should be on Animal Kingdom or something like that...

So there are a few random things that have happened in the past three days...hope it gave you a break from the day to day and maybe made you smile a little...

~Blevins - out!

Weekend Word - Part VII

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Don’t we all need to read this verse from time to time…I feel like given the pace of my life, this is another verse, just like last week, I should probably read everyday.

Who among us does not know what it’s like to feel totally week…totally exhausted…like we couldn’t take another step?...and I don’t just mean physically, I mean emotionally and spiritually as well. Perhaps you’ve taken so many hits to your self-esteem you can’t imagine ever being able to take a chance again…you’ve experience such great loss that you don’t think you will or could ever be happy…you’ve been waiting and waiting for God to renew your spirit and it just hasn’t happened and you’re feeling utterly lost, alone, and hopeless…these are what I consider to be “weary and heavy burden” moments…

“I will give you rest”…relief…I’ll take those problems for a while…I’ll give you joy, peace, love, hope…I will renew your strength…I love you…let me show you…don’t try to handle this alone…I can take it…trust me…

Now, I can be a little Rob Bell-is this week, because I’ve actually heard people (him) talk about what it means to take on a teacher’s “yoke.” (although, I’m sure I’ll most likely butcher the meaning of this because I totally just write this stuff from the top of my head…there’s no extra research involved…it’s the weekend…I don’t have that kind of energy or drive…I’ll just say it’s on one of his Nooma dvd’s so you should probably just watch it to get the real info). I think that in Jewish culture, when you chose to identify yourself with a particular rabbi or teacher, you would take on their “yoke.” That meant that you would take on their teachings. Then it would be your job to pass those teachings and ideas on to others. So, when Jesus said that His “yoke is easy” and “His burden is light,” He’s letting us know that we’re not going to be taking on this impossible task by being His follower. It’s doable, it’s achievable. He even says it easy…and that He'll be easy on us...He's humble...not the kind of know it all that you can't stand to be around...and when you get something wrong, or fail a little, He's not gonna beat you...He'll be loving and gentle

Now, I don’t want to disagree with what Jesus says here…so please don’t think that’s what I’m doing, but I don’t really necessarily feel that His burden is light. I see His burden as being death on the cross…death to self…and the burden of reaching the world with His love and power…I mean, perhaps that’s not what He’s talking about here, but I take it as a very heavy burden. However, it's not a hopeless one…not one that I carry alone. Maybe that’s why He considers it “light.” Perhaps it’s light, because it’s shared by all Christians…and Jesus is holding up the heavy side…What an awesomely cool God we have…I feel like that sounds kinda corny, but how else can you describe someone who’s willing to take on our heart aches, struggles, pain, and sorrow so that we don’t have to? I think that’s pretty awesomely cool in my mind…don’t you?

~Blevins – out!

Weekend Word - Part VII

“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” James 4:17

Yeah…I almost feel like this is one of those “enough said” moments. Oh James, why must you be so complicated and stressful?! I would definitely say that although short in length, James is one of the longer books of the Bible when we’re talking about unpacking what it means. I think we could go on for weeks about what this little book has to say about the way we should live (and at CCC we have...just listen to the series "Shorts"...one of the guys that speaks during that series is pretty amazing...I'm sorta kinda head over heels for that guy...).

This particular verse is one that I think I should probably read everyday. How many times do I see something that I really should do, and don’t do it? I just pass the opportunity on by and probably don’t even give it another thought…well, that’s not true…I’m actually the type of person who, once I realize I should have done something and didn’t do it, will beat myself up over it…however, I’m not sure that I ever really think about it as sin. I wonder if I did think of it as sin, would I take the time to make sure I did what I know I ought? And, the times that I have asked God to forgive me for missed opportunities (when I've realized it) are almost more unbearable than asking God to forgive me for not telling the truth or speeding down Rt. 40...And what about the times that I just totally miss the boat? Is it because I’m too self-absorbed to see the world around me?...probably, but how can God forgive me for that? I guess I’m just really really thankful for the power of Jesus’ blood and the fact that it can wash away any sin…even the sin of missed opportunity…

I will close by saying that it is my earnest prayer that God will somehow make clear the things I ought to do, so I can be a blameless and pure child of His…one without fault or blemish…one that can say that she lived her life for God, and lived it well, making the most of everything.

~Blevins – out!

Weekend Word Part VI

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.” Matthew 16:24-27

So…this is one of those…”Holy cow, why did Jesus have to say such things?” verses…I read this and think, there’s no way I can live up to these standards…I mean, I don’t necessarily consider myself to be all that selfish, but then, let’s stop and think about the definition of selfish. Selfish: (adj) devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. Now, I don’t really know all that many people who only care for themselves so then I start to wonder if we (America) aren’t as selfish as everyone always says we are. On the other hand, when I look at the rest of the definition and read the words “concerned primarily with one’s own interests, benefits, welfare, etc.” I start to wonder…maybe I am really selfish. I’m not saying that I don’t care about anyone else but me. I just mean that I am normally absorbed in thinking about my own interests, my own well-being. Many times I am so much consumed with thinking about everything that’s going on with me, that it clouds out what God might be prompting me to do…changes I might need to make, people I might need to help, things I might need to do, steps of faith I might need to take…Perhaps that’s the reason why Jesus says these words about being selfish first. That is to say, that if we (myself included) are mainly concerned with ourselves, then there is no room for God to move in our lives…He’s a big God…He’s not going to play second fiddle to us.

“Take up your cross…” This phrase reminds me of that song we used to sing a lot in church growing up…I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. I’ve always enjoyed this hymn…I don’t know if it’s because of the words or how easy it is to sing or because it has so many verses, but it’s definitely one of my favorites. Anyway, there’s a verse in this song that says “My cross I’ll carry ‘till I see Jesus.” I’ve always been somewhat intrigued by this idea. Now, if I were Rob Bell or somebody like that, I’d probably have some type of historical meaning to this idea of taking up one’s cross, but alas, I do not. I’ll just convey what I think it means…I guess because I’m selfish like that. Welp, I think we all have these crosses in our lives, just like Jesus. Jesus always knew he was going to die…I've always seen is as this big thing between Him and God…like the proverbial “pink elephant” in the room. I can imagine that Jesus most likely mentioned it every time He talked to God…I know I would. “Hey dad, about this whole dying and giving up my life thing…that’s really gonna hurt and be really hard…can’t we rethink this a little…” These are the kinds of bargains I feel like I have with God too…of course mine are absolutely meaningless compared with Jesus giving up His life to save the whole world, but I think the idea is sort of the same. We all have these hang-ups…these things that keep us from really giving in fully to God’s plan. I think one of the points that Jesus is trying to make here is that He knows we have these things, these issues, these “crosses” that we carry around with us…these burdens, if you will, and He wants us to pick them up and bring them to Him. It won’t be easy, it will probably hurt, it will probably be a little humiliating, we’ll definitely need some help with it, but in order to follow Him, in order to be like Jesus, we have to be willing to take up that proverbial cross.

“Follow me…” well that’s definitely easier said than done. I’m still holding out for those burning bush, goatskin in the dew, writing on the wall occurrences…I guess that’s not happening anytime soon, so how do I know I’m following Jesus? I suppose that’s where faith comes in to play. We just have to have faith that God will somehow make His path clear to us so that we can follow…

"If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” This part seems self explanatory, but it doesn’t make it any less difficult to do. I kinda get the feeling that maybe Jesus was not only talking to His followers, but to Himself too.

And here comes the real kick in the butt moment…”And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” It is so easy to get caught in the trap of “getting.” (or at least that’s what I’m going to call it) It happens to me all of the time. There are so many things in this world that I want to gain…money, things, power, stature (well maybe not all of those things, but it’s gotta be true for some people…). Then I read this and I get all squirmy inside. I don’t mean to be someone who is trying to gain the whole world, but sometimes I feel like I’m getting pulled into the whirlpool and can’t swim out. That makes me worry…not just for myself (because at least I have moments of clarity where I realize that I’m putting my wants ahead of following God), but it makes me really worry about our world in general. How many people around us are losing their souls (and not just people who are “lost”—people we see in church with us each Sunday)? I know those are harsh words, but they’re the ones Jesus used…so we know they’re true.

And finally, “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.” This is one of those things that keeps me up at night from time to time. When I think about being judged according to my deeds, I get this weird flush that rolls right over me, it’s probably some type of a panic attack. I know that I have many things that I do right and I do them for the right reasons, but, I also have so many ways that I fail and fall. I have those thoughts that wouldn’t be really pleasing to anyone, especially the God of all creation. Ugh, I guess this just another reason to remember that although God is just, He’s also loving and forgiving. I think I’ll choose to hang on to that for now, just so I don’t get all freaked out and panicky…What a great note to end on…perhaps I should have planned this one out a little bit better. I guess the best thing is that there’s still hope…there’s still time to follow hard after Jesus…to gather up all of our problems and hang-ups and issues and to seek after Him…to put our worldly desires and struggles in the back seat and to let our actions scream to the heavens how wonderful our God is.

There you go...two weekends in a row...
~Blevins - out!