Serious: Living in God's Presence

I read something this morning that encouraged the reader (me) to focus on living in God's presence...right here, in the present. To get out of problem-solving mode, out of the planning mode, out of the "go go go go go" mindset I get stuck in is a challenge.

What does it look like to practically live in God's presence...in the present? Truthfully, I don't know. I know it has to do with releasing control and not playing the "what if" or "if only" game. In case you're unfamiliar with those games, the "what if" game focuses on things that might happen in the future, while the "if only" game focuses on things that happened in the past.

For example:
What if we all get in a car accident on the highway?
What if we lose income?
Or even, on a smaller scale: what if the kids don't nap well?

OR, If only we'd have invested in Apple 30 years ago.
If only we'd have learned that lesson from other people's experience, rather than on our own.
If only I'd have bought a lottery ticket - those were the numbers I'd have chosen, right?

The common denominator in all of these silly examples is that I would be trying to control everything around me. Really, so little is within my control. It seems the tighter I grip control, the more I play these two games - and I get fearful for the future and have regrets about the past. I feel burdened: to be a good wife, a good mom, a good daughter, a good sister, a good....(you fill in the blank.)

But.

Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you." This is what I'm trying to learn to do as I juggle through life. Cast my burden on His shoulders. He can take it.

Seriously Silly: Anybody need an Eyebrow Wax?

My dad is on a mission to get Andy Rooney eyebrows. He is so proud of his eyebrows and he gets so excited when they grow out a little bit.

This is what Andy Rooney's eyebrows look like:

Charming aren't they?

One thing my sister and I inherited from our dad is the ability to grow eyebrow hair.All the aestheticians I have been to say that one day I'll be thankful, but what it really means is that I have to "maintain" my brows so as not to be confused for Colonel Bress or Andy Rooney.

I go to Trios Salon and Spa here in Fort Collins to take care of this issue. A really sweet lady  named Judy from Wisconsin takes good care of my eyebrows. She does a phenomenal job waxing and shaping my brows, even though it hurts. Like crazy. Anyway, I was there tonight and she gave me some reference cards. A brow wax is $20. If you go in with a reference card YOU get $10 off! And SO DO I!!! Which means a brow wax for half price at Trios.

Let me know if you're interested! You will love Judy, and your eyebrows will look amazing.

Silly: Traffic in Fort Collins

It is six miles from our house to Reza's work at Timberline Church.

Six Miles.

Tonight, I took the kids to see Reza since he has a late night and won't be home until after they fall asleep. We left the church at 6:15 to come home to get ready for bed.

We did not get home until 6:45!!! It took us 30 minutes  to travel six miles. My math is rusty, but I'm pretty sure that means we averaged 12 mph on the way home.

Ridiculous. Why can't anybody figure out how to get from east to west in Fort Collins? It's driving me crazy. Crazy. CRAZY!!!

Serious: What *really* matters?

This year I will turn 35; in just a few weeks, actually. I feel like 34 was an interesting 'turning point' for me. I spent most of my twenties being an idiot - you couldn't pay me to go back to being 25, honestly. The first half of my thirties included getting married and having my beautiful babies, and now it feels like I can almost breathe again. Just for a minute. During the kids' naptime. During those few peaceful minutes, I've started reflecting on things that really matter.

My heart has really been softened in the last year and I realize that I want to care about the things that God cares about. Because of different circumstances, I realize that this boils down to relationship.  With my husband. My kids. My parents. My sister and brother-in-law. Reza's family. My amazing friends.

Not the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Not a Fancy Shmancy job title.

Not the size or our house or the coolness of our car. (Which is really good because our house is small and I believe the other name for a minivan is "loser cruiser.")

I want the structure of my life to reflect my values, so I am rearranging things to that end. I don't even know what that looks like really, but I'm working on it. Stay tuned, people.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.

Silly: I'm back!

After a ridiculous hiatus, I've decided to rejoin the blogging world. I revamped the site and since I can't decide if I want to be silly or serious I decided to be both. So, my posts will be labeled (silly or serious, duh) so you can choose whether you want to read or not.

To fill you in, the last time I blogged, I was 30 weeks pregnant with the baby who is now 17 months old. What a JOY he is!

Anyway. I'm back. My goal is to blog something every day, even if it's just one or two lines. Hope you'll venture with me!

Silly: Ruh-Roh, Scooby

I've done the unthinkable.

Yesterday, I became friends with my boss on Facebook. (Hi Blair, if you're reading.)

I've actually seen articles in credible periodicals debating whether or not this is a good idea. First of all, that Facebook is taking up valuable article space in different newspapers and magazines is so laughable to me I can't imagine how the guy who invented it feels. He is laughing all the way to the bank, to be sure. Secondly, the whole reason to "not be friends with the boss" boils down to the potential that the boss may see pictures of their employee doing something they shouldn't be doing.

This leads me to my rant, which sounds scarily like the lectures my mom and dad gave me growing up but that's neither here nor there.

The bottom line is that if you're doing things that your boss shouldn't see, you shouldn't be stupid enough to post pictures of that behavior on Facebook. It goes back to what my mom would say when I'd ask to stay out later than my midnight curfew. "Nothing good happens after midnight," she'd say. You know what? She was right. Nothing good ever DID happen after midnight.

There was a time in my life that I was participating in behavior that I wouldn't want my boss (parents, "responsible" friends, etc) to see pictures of. I'm so glad that's not true anymore. I have friends who are still living lifestyles that they probably don't want the boss to know about. I'm too tired to maintain all those personalities anymore, and not just because I'm 30 weeks pregnant.

So anyway, I'm pretty secure in what "the boss" will see if he decides to snoop around my Facebook profile. (whew!) Can you say the same?

Silly: Geez, a two week break?

I didn't mean to take two weeks off, but boy has a lot happened since the last time I blogged. Let me sum up:

• Thursday, Jan. 28: We listed our house "just to see what would happen." We settled in for the long process of selling a home.
• Wednesday, Feb. 10: We got an offer on the house for 99% of our asking price. Um...what? 13 days later?!? God is really doing crazy things. We accepted the offer. (Duh.)
• Thursday, Feb. 11 (morning):  We put an offer on a little place we found in Brown farm.
• Thursday, Feb. 11 (afternoon): The offer on the little place was accepted.
• Thursday, Feb. 11 (early evening): Community Auto called and said they had administered Last Rites to our sweet little Saturn, Ruthie. She needs an overhaul that will cost more than she is worth.
• Thursday, Feb. 11 (later evening): I got so overwhelmed I couldn't stop crying. The house thing is ca-razy. I am so sad about my little Ruthie, but I know it'll work out just fine.

My lack of brain space has resulted in absolutely *nothing* profound coming from me tonight. Really, I am just so humbled at God's provision and timing: if all goes as planned, we close on both houses on Wednesday, March 31 and will presumably be (mostly) settled before the baby comes in May. The new house is smaller square footage wise, but it sits on 1/4 of an acre! So, Olivia will have a swingset and the dogs will get to run around! There is open space behind us and it's going to be so fun.

More later. Peace out, homies.