Sneak Peak

One of my sweet friends, Shannon, has a growing interest in photography and just got a fancy new camera, and on her blog she was "paying it forward," which basically consisted of her giving of her skills without expecting something in return. The person who received the gift was to pass their skills on to others without expecting anything back, too. So, I asked Shannon to do a photo shoot of Brent and me since we have pictures of each other, but we're never together in the same picture! Shannon's really talented and got some great shots of us! Below are just two of the pictures from the 300-400 that she took of us in Duke Gardens.

Self Discipline

I do some sort of physical activity every day. Yes, I do my best to do something every single day. Someone asked me the other day why I spend my time working out as much as I do. This is what I told them: For me, it's not so much about the numbers on the scale. Sure, that's an added benefit, but that's usually not the reason I sweat, cramp, or struggle to breathe. It's more of a spiritual issue than that. Just like I have to constantly struggle against my sinful nature, I struggle against my laziness. My body tells me that I want to sit on the couch all night, eating Oatmeal Creme Pies for dinner while I stare at the tv. My heart and mind tell me that my body is God's Temple, and I need to take care of it. It's also a self-control issue. The way I see it is this: God gave me this body, and he expects me to take care of it. God expects me to discipline my body, not my body to discipline me. It's a decision I have to make every day. Some days are harder to make the decision to get off the couch than others, just like with my sinful human nature. But I know that when I'm finished running, kickboxing, lifting weights, or (attemping) pull ups, I sleep and feel much better, from the inside out. Just like I know that God has cleansed me from the inside out.

Dress Up

Okay, so I'm a definite jeans-and-tee-shirt kind of girl. Seriously, I love jeans. And tee shirts. And Crocs. I wear them every day. Well, today, I decided to wear a skirt to work. Why? I dunno, I just felt like dressing up a little. So I'm at work and all day I've been hearing things like, "You look nice today" and "Cute skirt." My personal favorite? A volunteer came into the office today and said, "Hey...how was your weekend - wait. Are you wearing a dress?? No, that's a skirt. Are you serious???? What, did Jesus come into the office today?"

Cat-a-licked-it Con-vert-ner

Last Wednesday Brent walked out from work and started his truck to come home. "That's weird," he thought. Instead of the light purr that usually goes with the GMC Sierra, there was a really, really loud thundering that shook the whole floorboard. So, bless my bewildered husband's heart, he drove home in a dazed confusion about what the in world was making that noise. When he got home there was no "Honey, I'm home" or "I missed you today, Baby" but a "So the weirdest thing is going on with my truck..." and proceeded to tell me about it's symptoms. It was raining a good bit outside, but being the good wife I am, I sucked it up and went out in the rain to crawl under the truck. There was definitely a part of the exhaust pipe missing, neatly sawed off at either end. I asked him what the police said about it, then immediately followed up with "You did call the police, right?" when I saw the look on his face. So back to Duke's parking lot we both went...in the vibrating, heard-for-3-miles-around truck. When we got there, another couple was waiting around their Element. We immediately got out and talked to them...yup, the same thing happened to them. We also noticed there were several broken windows around the lot.

*The Duke Campus Police shows up, nods a hello, crawls under both cars, and says, "Yessiree, looks like them done got your cat-uh-licked-it con-vert-ner there. Yup, sure does."

Other man that also got his catalytic converter stolen (with a thick Greek accent): "I'm sorry, what was it that got stolen?"

Po-Po: "Yur cat-a-licked-it con-vert-ner. It helps fer the air to stay clear from them toxins in yur car."

Man: "The cat-u-lick-um converter. Right."

Brent (cluing in): "Oh! You mean the catalytic converter."

Po-Po: "That's what I done said, ain't it?"

So using all my restraint to not start busting out laughing or ask where he was from, we continue on to the details of the report (that it'll probably cost over $1,000 to replace, why the thieves probably stole it (to sell the metals inside), contact info, insurance info, etc). Despite the fact that I'm soaked, I'm just getting the feeling back in my legs and feet from the car ride there, and I can't hear myself think when we press the gas pedal, we're on the way back home and I bust out laughing from the aforementioned conversation. Brent hears (or maybe saw me from the coner of his eye) and I can just make out him saying, "I can't believe it, either! How ironic! I had that I Heart Durham car magnet right above where they sawed!"

*Granted, it was raining and it's been a week since the indident, so the following conversation could be somewhat skewed.

Ten Commandments Musical

While legitimately looking for a book to hand out at our Easter services I blindly stumbled across this gem. Why is this a gem? Oh yes, that's none other than Val Kilmer in that turban and wrapped skirt (aka: Moses) with a forced disappointed look on his face, and what shocked me more: that's Adam Lambert from American Idol on the ladder (aka: Ramses)!!!! I couldn't turn my eyes away until I heard Val Kilmer sing. A co-worker walked by and said, "Well, I think it's safe to say his career is at an all-time low." This comment almost drove me to laughing tears since I was thinking about the crush I had on him in The Saint. From watching American Idol, I knew that Adam Lambert had been in musicals, and his talent still showed through in this movie, although I can't say the same for Val. Is it a bad thing that I can't take this seriously?

Bathroom humor

Okay, so if you know me AT ALL, you know I have a small touch of OCD. Okay fine, I'm an OCD superstar. Seriously, when I started working at the Summit, I replaced their 3-year-standing OCD employee by passing to eat a birthday cake that someone had blown on (Of course they blew on it! Can you say birthday candles?) and with simple, everyday phrases like, "Well, it's been 5 minutes. Time to wash my hands." But, I digress.

Two facts you'll need to find my story funny:
1. Brent and I have been working out together.
2. I cannot STAND public restrooms.

The car ride from GA to NC is pretty lenghy...6.5 hours lenghy, usually. I try to go to the bathroom right before we leave so I don't have to go while we're on the road. Well, I must've drank 15 gallons of water or something because I really had to go. (Funny, I don't remember drinking that much water...) So, thankfully we find a restaurant for me to go to the bathroom (I just don't go anywhere, you know), and as is the female custom of using public bathrooms, I don't touch ANYTHING with my bare hands (thank you, paper towels!), assume the squatty stance, do my thang, wash my hands throughly, use the paper towel to open the door, and leave. By the time I get back to the truck, it's been a little over 10 minutes. Now, here's where the exercising fact comes in. Brent and I did an hour of leg exercises (jumping, squats, lunges, plyos, etc) the day before. Needless to say, my legs were jelly. So, by the time I get back in the truck, I'm laughing at how hard it was to go to the bathroom! Of course Brent sees me laughing and asks what's up. When I tell him, his accusatory response was, "Ah ha! So that's how you can do wall squats so well!"

Split Personalities

Whether I'm out for a joyride or commuting to work on my motorcycle, I'm very aware of my surroundings. I'm constantly looking out for dangers (like other cars, or the many potholes and manhole "covers" around here), calculating the many possibilities of distance, brake distance, and time parameters, keeping tabs on all the cars in front, beside, and behind me, patiently waiting on other drivers, and trying to be a step ahead of other people's decisions. Now, when I drive a car, the music's usually pretty loud, I have a minimum of 4 things in the passenger seat, I'm looking for my water bottle/Chapstick/new CD/radio station/audio player/etc, and I'm usually going at least 10 miles over the speed limit (Phil & Todd, please ignore that last statement). It's almost like I'm a completely different person. Although in both cases, any colission, or near-colission for that matter, could be one of the worst things that could happen.

I can see the parallelism in my spiritual life. There are times when I'm fervently digging into the Word, scoping out my surroundings, looking for dangers and traps from Satan, aware of the little distractions that try to pull me away from my Father, and patiently waiting on the Lord. Other times, there seems to be not enough hours in a day. I'll read my Bible, but not meditate on them to let the words hide in my heart. I'll begin to pray, only to wake up 20 minutes later in a very uncomfortable position (talk about some serious neck cramps). However, unlike the transportation analogy, I actually look forward to hardships. Not in a masochist way, but in the fact that if I'm walking with the Lord, I find myself not worrying about the outcome or problem. My Lord is far, far larger than anything on this earth. And when this little lamb has strayed? Yes, it's harder during those times. But during those times I learn (yet again...really, how many times will this take??) that I can't handle it on my own. It's time to get on my knees, repent, and hold on to the only true Hope.