And they shall call it... THE DECEMBER HOLIDAY

I posted this last year on Facebook, and as I was putting up my tree again this year, I thought about it again.

I think one of the greatest fears for my parents who raised their children overseas was that their kids would miss out on life back here in the states. They feared we would miss out on strong relationships by not living near grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. Around holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter that fear was heightened and so I think they may have overcompensated a bit. Not in the magnitude of gifts given, but in the traditions they created for our family, and the traditions we participated in within our community. My mom and her friend Danielle threw an immense Christmas tea. My parents gave us tree ornaments that in someway represented things we had done, or seen, or places we had traveled, or our life in the Middle East that year. We caroled with our youth group at peoples houses. We had dinner with other families before or after the Christmas eve service, depending on what time it was. My mom cooked an immense amount of cookies. We read Christmas books. We had the visitor from the north. I even wrote him a letter about how to break in through the sliding door since our houses didn't have chimneys. This morning at church my pastor was talking about the Lottie Moon fund which supports foreign missionaries, and for which the southern baptist convention collects funds during December. I couldn't help but think about the annual Dorcas bizarre and chili cook off put on by the women of the fellowship I grew up in. Because we lived in a country where Christmas decorations and such were pretty much not available, the women spent most of the year meeting weekly to craft their own. They used everything and anything imaginable, from beautiful fabrics and laces to paperclips and the metal tops of frozen juice concentrate cans.

Paper clip ice skates :)

The orange juice lid, one of my all time favorites.

This may look like an ugly cat with a jacket, but when I look at this ornament, I think of Arpy Tarakjian. Anyone who knows Ms Arpy, knows that every time I look at this ornament, I smile.

I was reminded of the hours of time my mother and her friends spent crafting as I decorated my tree this afternoon. As I placed ornaments on the tree, I thought of specific women who created various items, I thought about the time they had spent on those things, which ultimately raised funds for missions in places like India, thousands and thousands of dollars, and I thought about the time those women spent on me, teaching me things like a love for God's Word, His Work, and His people. I was reminded of the anticipation that built as the sale grew closer, and the men started to organize their contribution, the chili and cornbread dinner. I remembered helping my mom and her friends frantically finish pricing items as women lined up outside to come into the sale. It was our own small scale version of black friday. I thought about the Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings after Desert Storm, when we would stand in the "cold" waiting for the 3 or 4 service men we would have in our home for my mom's unbelievable roast and the fun it was to take those members of the US military to the beach. I remember showing some of them the ocean for the first time in their lives. I remember the first time I went to a mall at Christmas time here in the States. I was 15, it was an overwhelming experience. Yes we may have missed out on crazy shopping frenzy, and mall traffic. We may have missed out on snow. I never spent a holiday with my paternal grandfather, ever, before he died, maybe the 1 thing I wish could have been different. But I am grateful, for the experiences and memories we did have. And I am grateful that every year I can pull out my Christmas decorations, and put names, faces, and memories to so many people who helped shape me. Thanks

Thankful Thursday 11/24/2011

836. staying connected with people even though I've been traveling a lot
837. Not having to drive
838. being able to be at friends' wedding
839. The show teenage and pregnant leading to the Gospel
840. Safe Clarence the driver
841. candles
842. Spiritual conversations while on the road
843. watching God move in peoples' lives
844. an unexpected care package from my family
845. trusting my gut and making a friend go to the hospital
846. a friend's 10 day old baby making it through heart surgery
847. Quiet places and a park to run through in the downtown of a city
848. encouragement and perspective from a friend
849. sweet notes from a friend to remind me that I am not alone
850. people responding when I blow my bicycle horn
851. safe travel
852. a day to celebrate being thankful
853. family, real and fictive
854. "that's completely rational for a girl brain, life isn't reality, it's a romance novel with Fabio on the cover"
855. accountability
856. this song

857. silence
858. working headphones

The Ducks

This morning I went for a run in downtown Huntsville, AL. After any beach, anywhere, it's one of my favorite places to run. There is a great park, and though it is a city, it is not an excessively busy city so having to cross streets isn't really a problem. It's pretty clean and safe looking also.

Often I do a lot of thinking when I run. I figure out a lot solutions to problems. I think about what I have been reading in God's Word. I pray a lot for people and about situations while I run.

This past weekend some friends got married. I am extremely happy for them, and I am thankful that throughout their relationship, they have chosen to honor God, choose His best. To some of our other friends, who are not Christians, this was very confusing. Some weren't exactly understanding, some were outright mean about it all.

So as I was running I was thinking about how hard it is sometimes to choose God's best in a world that tells us to do what we want, what feels good, take what we want.

Discipline, self-control, selflessness, these are not traits that our society holds high.

I was thinking about how counter cultural it has become, to not sleep with someone until you are married to them, or to ask the dad's permission, or to put the needs of someone else before your own. I was thinking about how quick people are to form opinions, because I choose not to swear, because I choose not to drink, because I would prefer not to speak harsh things about others or to others, make fun of others.

At the very end of the run, I came across this group of ducks.

It was God's reminder to me, that yes, sometimes it's hard, but ultimately, if we are His children, we are called to a higher standard. We are called to stand out.

Thankful Thursday 11/17/2011

818 safe travels
819 really fun basketball games
820 contentment
821 the gift of tickets to good, God honoring concert

822 good talks with my road roomie

823 laughing so hard I can't breath
824 camp people
825 the reminder that He isn't done with me yet
826 music that reminds me of truths about God's faithfulness


827 awesome sunsets

828 a broken heart for hurting people in a world where it's easy to be numb
829 the gift of teaching a group of students who love learning
830 Polo
831 hard rain during the night
832 Godly men who love, lead, and provide for their families, or want that in the future
833 looking back and seeing all that God has done in a friend's life
834 answered prayer
835 generosity

Pilgrims

This morning I was having a good old session of wallow. I was sad that next week is Thanksgiving, and that for the first time in 5? years, I will not be in a hotel somewhere with a team, but will not have enough time off to be with family, or to drive 3-4 hours to any one of a few friends from Saudi to spend the day with them. I felt sorry for myself.

Then I went on a run. It was a very windy run. As I put one foot in front of the other, at times making little progress, I thought about Thanksgiving, the holiday.

This past summer my mom and I took an impromptu, spontaneous trip to Plymouth Rock. I was mad about it at first, I had intended to spend the day with my brother and his family, but there had been some miscommunication. I cherish my time in New England because it is so limited and I was mad that I wasn't able to spend the day with friends or family who live up there. Once I got over my frustration, I realized it was some one on one time with Mom, which I also cherish and don't get very much of.

So off to Plymouth Rock we drove.
We viewed the rock itself.

We walked around.

That's Burial Hill where several of the original pilgrims are buried, as well as Squanto.


Plymouth is really not that exciting and I don't recommended it as a high priority when touring New England, but it was good to hang out with my Mom. I made her do "crazy" things like stop in the middle of the road with no cars behind us to take a picture.

As I was running on my lunch break, I thought back to that day in Plymouth. I thought about how good it was to be with my Mom, and how I would have missed that had I not quickly had an attitude adjustment.
I thought back to the people who crossed over the Atlantic, on the original Mayflower back in 1620. They started out with 102 passengers plus crew who were looking to go to a new place where they could have freedom to worship God in ways they felt they should.

That is the Mayflower II, a replica of the original.

The first Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621 there were 53 surviving pilgrims. More than half of the people who originally set out to come to a new land, to pursue religious freedom had died. And yet they gave thanks, for the ways God had provided for them. They celebrated their first harvest in a new land. Edward Winslow said it like this "And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

I cannot imagine all the hardships and fears that those remaining 53 had endured over the course of the previous year. I cannot imagine the loss they felt as so many had died. And yet their perspective was that because of the goodness of God, they were so far from want.

Recently there has been a phrase tossed around a lot at work. We comment that this or that is a first world problem. For example, the spotty internet on the bus while traveling down the interstate, keeping me from imbedding YouTube videos into PowerPoint presentations is a first world problem. First world problems are miniscule when compared with third world problems, like having clean water to drink.

Today I read this blog by one of my favorite authors.


I was reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5 where we are commanded to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

How many times do I spend my time wallowing, ungrateful for what I have been given, only to miss the blessing because of my shortsightedness?

I have no idea what next Thursday will look like. I do know that He will be there with me, and I don't want to miss whatever circumstance He gives me to be grateful for because my eyes were focused on the wrong thing.

Thankful Thursday 11/10/2011

801 my "little" brother who makes me laugh
802 long runs
803 running into friends while running errands
804 impromptu movie nights
805 the reminder that most of my problems are first world problems, so really they aren't actual problems

806 Hilarious moments that keep me laughing for days
807 that I am a citizen of a country that allows me to vote
808 an opportunity to teach my students about how to vote in my exercise science class
809 old school youtube videos of Christian musicians
810 amazing weather
811 amazing talks with my running buddy
812 my Sunday school class, love them, so thankful for them
813 music to live to my life to
814 the realization that had I not stepped out in faith, I would have missed out on so much blessing
815 realizing a God moment and taking time to be in it

816 hearing a good friend talk about an opportunity to share a hard part of her past with another sister in Christ who is walking through a similar hard place right now

817 getting to give rides to church :)

The Commissioner of Agriculture

It is not lost on me that though I grew up in the Middle East, I was born a citizen of the United States. I am incredibly grateful that I have a say in deciding who is going to run the government that runs my country. While women in the country where I was raised are still fighting for an opportunity simply to drive a car, I am given the opportunity tomorrow to get in my car, well truck, drive to the polls and cast my vote.

I read this morning that officials are expecting less than 25% of the population to come out to the polls. This to me is a great travesty. It completely blows my mind.

I remember one time, I think it was a presidential election, I had to stand on line and wait. There were two very tall men who were friends on either side of me, they were talking above me. This is fairly common for me, considering that I'm am incredibly short compared to my family, and I work with very tall people.
Anyway, the night before I had gone through and made myself a cheat sheet to take to the polls so I would remember who I wanted to vote for in the local races, and whether I wanted to vote yes or no on item 72. Anyone who has ever voted knows that there are always local items on the ballot, and if you don't prepare, you have no idea what to vote. Unfortunately many people often vote based on name recognition or party without actually knowing who or what they are voting for. Because my parents always voted absentee when we were kids, I actually got to watch them read the directions, and go through and punch holes in the right squares. I knew before the first time I ever voted that there would be more than just the question about the president.

Back to the taller than me men, one of them looked down at my organized paper and said "we have to vote on all that?"
"yes"
"can I borrow your paper?"
Ummm...
So this morning, with an election tomorrow, I was working on my list. There isn't too much on the ballot this time. I especially appreciate the website that has the spreadsheet with each candidates' ideals. I don't appreciate the candidates that don't answer the questions. I mainly ignore the campaigning until about the week before and then go read about all the candidates.
A side note, I think a great way to reduce the cost and waste associated with campaigning would be to just have everyone answer the questions, and then have people vote based on that info. Candidates could create their own websites too and call it a day. It would be pretty much free.
Back to the election. This year I will be voting on the commissioner of agriculture, which in Kentucky seems to be a decently important position. With the horse industry in the middle of the state and the corn, soy bean, wheat, and tobacco production here is west Kentucky, agriculture is a big source of state revenue.
So I was reading about the two candidates, which I previously knew nothing about. Let me break it down for you. The democratic candidate is a guy whose last name is Farmer. He has worked in private business, in marketing and advertising. He has no farming experience, he said so himself. He wants to heavily market the agricultural industry. He also has never held a public office before, another thing he stated himself. As I drove home for lunch I noticed his catchy "Farmer Bob" signs. A little misleading I think.
The other guy, the republican candidate, has a nondescript name. He has always worked in farming. He has also held office in the state house of representatives. He has held other leadership roles within Kentucky agriculture. I think he raises beef cattle, but don't quote me. He wants to increase export of Kentucky products, increase rural development, protect Kentucky agriculture, and lastly, one small statement about using social media and other modern marketing techniques to market Kentucky agriculture better.
My co-worker and I were discussing this, and the other candidates in the other races. He, thankfully, takes voting seriously, he will probably wear an "I voted" sticker all day tomorrow. He said "yeah because so many farmers check facebook as they drive their tractors."
But then I got to thinking about it. The guy that first helped me figure out how to use my iphone is an Ag major, he is from a soybean and corn growing family. He actually gets daily texts about the market value of wheat, corn, and soybeans. I am not kidding. My East Coast, and West Coast, and Canadian friends are probably laughing. He has also fixed my internet in hotels on team trips.

I'm not sure for sure who to vote for yet, I need to talk to some people.

But my question is this, of the 25% of people (or less) who will actually show up to vote tomorrow, how many of them will think about who they are voting for on any item other than governor before arriving at the polls? And how many of them will vote for the guy named Farmer, just because of his name?

Thankful Thursday 11/3/2011

782 crisp clear night with bright stars
783 bonfire with friends
784 peace about the future
785 contentment to just be here, where I am at, for the time He has me here
786 the perfect analogy
787 a great Saturday morning chat with Arwen
789 conversations that involve eternal perspective
790 smart wool socks
791 a month devoted to giving thanks
792 this song by Matt Maher on the radio


793 rain
794 sisters looking out for each other
795 sweet times with the Lord during quiet times this week
796 friends around the world who I would do almost anything to get together with (note ALMOST anything)who I can stay in touch with via facebook
797 finally finding a decently priced plane ticket for Christmas with the fam
798 birthdays
799 some awesome runs, with and without my running buddy
800 my Monday night girls

Give Thanks

Several years ago, while shopping in Nashville, I came across an awesome November calendar in Pottery Barn kids. The calendar was quite expensive for what it was, so I showed it to my mom, knowing that she could do better. Originally it was a gift idea for my niece and nephew, but the next fall, a giant box arrived at my house, with one from my mom for me.

Ever since I have displayed the calendar in my office window during November and written something I'm thankful for to put in each of the pockets.

Last year I didn't take out the slips of paper when I put it away in December, so I pulled them all out this morning.

Here is a sampling:

That John is alive and doing well
Last year my uncle went through a major health crisis, it was really scary. At this time last year he was out of a coma, we were grateful. He doesn't even remember last November. But this November he is still alive, and doing well, and I am still grateful

That I live in a country where I can have a say in the government

That I have a job I enjoy

My church family, near and far

Great coworkers

That I am able to run, which is a form of exercise I fully enjoy

My awesome parents

Good weather

my hilarious niece and nephew

good friends to run and swim with

my brothers