Vacation: Get there...

If you haven't had one lately, it's time. I say this because, we are on one right now. It's heaven. I don't ever want to leave... but alas, we do have to go back to the real world sooner or later. I don't want to talk about that though.

Here's the highlights...
laying in the sun, watching O jump into the pool and not be afraid, seeing Brady laugh so hard he about keeled over, and the sheer joy of just being, as a family. Good stuff. We've done nothing but eat, relax, sleep and have fun.
This is so good for our minds, bodies, souls. Even though we're all sunburnt, we're happy. The real things in life are simple and good, and I've realized, I don't cherish them enough. We are blessed. So very very blessed.

My art

One of the most recent neon signs that God has been flashing at me is this: Shelly, You are an Artist. It's flashing in green neon, because green is my favorite color lately.

So, to honor God's flashing light, I have started an ART GROUP. Want to join? Here's what this means: Me and all the other artists out there get together to make art. For example, last Saturday morning my pal Lee and I photographed random things at the Farmer's Market. Of course, my favorite photo was not one I took at the Farmer's Market, but one I took while getting back into the car with my 2 year old. He's a feisty little fella and wouldn't obey his mommy by standing next to the car. Instead, he had to go check out the chain link fence in front of our car and ... the perfect shot appeared right before my eyes. I love photography.

Did you know that there are churches out there who have "artist groups" and communities of people who just hang out and do art stuff together? Now, that's cool. My church doesn't have this, but I'm going to start this. Heck, I'll even be the "art pastor." How's that?

When I grow up, I am going to be a photographer. Like that's all I'm going to do with myself is take pictures. I have decided that when "they" wrote all the books on spiritual gifts, "they" forgot to add visual arts. This, I believe, may indeed be my strongest spiritual gift. Capturing God's creation and the beauty my eyes behold is not only a priceless thing, but also a service to others. So, anytime I have to fill out something or tell someone what my spiritual gifts are, I usually list visual arts while they look at me with blank stares. They don't get it. That's OK. When we get to heaven and there is beautiful art beyond what our eyes can imagine or see, they'll remember me and smile. And I will smile back.

Easter again...

So, Easter has come and gone again. It's one of those holidays that should bring me joy as a Christian, but it only wears me out. From the kids singing in church, to new outfits, to baskets, and eggs... I sometimes get tired of the rat race our culture has made out of holidays. We had a nice meal at home, with several friends over, and then we all laid down for a long afternoon nap. Rest. In my opinion, all holidays should be like this. Eat and rest. Of course, we succumbed to the worldy tradition of coloring eggs and hiding them in our yard for our two year old to find. Even though he went to church that morning, I am pretty sure his best Easter memory will be finding those darned eggs. It's all backwards. I am considering skipping it next year. Not church, but eggs.

Recently, I have been reading up on fasting, and on taking the Sabbath day and keeping it holy. This has been good for me to continue to grow to understand. There's something about being intentional for God... some amazing thing that He meets us right in our stuff and blesses us through the process. I'm thankful for these things I don't understand completely, because even though it's a learning process and I'm a bit of a skeptic on all things, it's better to fast and rest than color Easter eggs and hide them in your yard. One is spiritual exercise, the other, well... just fluffy stuff in my opinion. And in the end, does the fluffy stuff I invest in really matter?

I'm going to do a church wide fast with my church. I'm not going to tell you when or where, though, because the Bible is clear that we are to fast in secret and that we are to even go out of our way to look good during a fast so no one knows we're starving ourselves, or in a period of deprivation. I've never done a fast for more than 24 hours. And I've never done one with a bunch of others at the same time. But, I'm going to do it. Not because they want me to, but because I'm curious to see what God will do with my heart during the time. I'll let you know what happens.

Make it a triple shot, please.

Latte, anyone?
I have a confession to make. I love lattes. Now, I'm not the worshipper of food. Although I do believe food is probably one of the greatest things God invented! It's so amazing what you can do with it and the ways we can create it to be so pleasing. Weird. Anyway, I do love lattes a great deal. Yes.

So, here's my question of the day. When I am emotionally heavy, or feeling a little blue (which is a lot lately because of my blue phase) the only real pick me up this earth can offer me is a latte. I like to add flavors too, either vanilla or carmel. Whipped cream is a must. Who can drink a hot beverage without it, really? But, what is it? Why does this immediately lift my spirits and make me happy, even for one small second? My best friend laughs at me when I take my first sip of coffee and say, "Thank you Jesus!" And this morning, when I was ordering my latte with a gift card I got, the "barista" said, "would you like any pastries or food with that?" I laughed and replied, "Coffee is my food, silly!" He also laughed and said, "absolutely!"

So, on to the other idea that lead to me buying a latte. My friend, Pamela, and I make fun of this rubber stamp they sell at this mega scrap booking monopoly we used to work at. It says, "Be Happy." We think it's about the dumbest thing to put on a stamp and then to place on a card that is possible. (NOTE: Please do NOT send me a card that says "Be Happy.")Maybe there's some psycho-babble that might support this statement as being accurate, but really, happiness is not something we choose. We just are, or we just aren't. I know for me, on days when I have said, "OK girl, pull up your bootstraps and be happy, dang it," it doesn't necessarily make me happy.

What makes me happy is a latte. And the sound of my children laughing together. Or the sight of my tulips peaking out in spring. Or the silence of freshly fallen snow. Or watching cheerleaders work really hard on TV. OR, even better, when I see it in the eyes of one of the kids I work with that they are understanding and receiving God's love. Now, that makes me happy. And all of those things, (children, tulips, snow, cheerleaders, God's love...) those are kind of unpredictable. It just happens, and viola! I am blessed.

So, here's what I've decided. Happiness is a blessing. When you have it and feel it, cherish it. It's God knocking on your door and saying hi. When you don't, then a triple shot carmel latte is in order friend, make it extra on the whipped cream.

Getting it Out.

So, I'm feeling the need to write again. I say again because I used to write all the time. Like 10 years ago I'd fill up a journal in a couple of months. I would write and write. I don't exactly know why I stopped... maybe I got busy... kids, and such. Maybe I didn't want to say what I was thinking? Denial of truth is a powerful deception. Whatever the reason, I'm ready now. To post thoughts. Have them be out there forever.

I recently read an entire book. I know this might sound like no small feet to most of you, but I get bored really easy. I am ambitious as I start many books a year, believing that they all will change me after I'm done reading them. Usually by about chapter 4 or 5 I'm bored. Either the writing isn't creative enough to hold me or the content is something predictable that I've already heard, or I just get bored with it. Anyway, this recent book impressed me a great deal. I read it from cover to cover in about 3 days. I couldn't put it down. It's called "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller.

So, now I am hereby declaring myself in a blue phase. The "influenced by Donald Miller" blue phase. This book, I do believe, did change my heart. There is some supernatural holy spirit hold on it. The way I have been thinking my whole life has finally been put to words for me! Thanks, Don. I even underlined things in this book, which for me, really means there's something there worth remembering. I am going to read it a second time after I let the first amazement soak in a while.

Someone told me a couple of days ago that this book was popular awhile back. That's so me. To catch up later on something everyone else already knows. Anyway, whoever knows or doesn't know, this book is a must read. Like it will go in various places in my house. I will buy multiple copies. I have at least two friends in mind that I am going to send it to. It's that good. It's right on... a direct hit.

Maybe it's because of Donald Miller that I must write again. Whatever the case, here I am. Getting my thoughts out.