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
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“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!
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
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“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!
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!
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