So the older I get (wow..that makes me sound really old), the more I am convinced that everything....EVERYTHING is spiritual.

This week God has shown up in the strangest places for me. In a walmart giftcard, in a cup of tea (I don't like tea), in a hand-made blanket, 2 puppies, a tv series, a smile from an old friend, and the "ah-hah" moment of putting 2 and 2 together for the first time.

Does that ever happen to you?

Do you find the divine peeking out in the strangest and most secular of places?

I've always heard this and used to think it was unnerving. If everything is spiritual, then every decision, even the tiniest, has spiritual significance, a right and wrong answer.......and a consequence. Everything. Who can live like that? So like many, I abandoned the whole idea for a more popular "trust God and make your own way" theology. And out went the baby, his bathwater, the tub, and the plumbing.

For years I missed so much. I found "liberty" from the fear of a micromanaging God, but for it traded the thrill of seeing and knowing and tasting and smelling the God who so often reveals himself in the most "micro" parts of our world, a roadside bush, a donkey, and a still small voice.

We can't stay paralyzed, obsessing over every decision for fear that choosing the wrong breakfast cereal will somehow anger God. Nonethless, when the decision is made, we can still find God in that same breakfast cereal. That's the divine beauty of it. God doesn't need my perfection to make a way for Him to show up. Perhaps, He just wants me to take notice that He's there.


As with everything, I'm still figuring it all out (ok...hoping to figure out something....anything?). But for today, I am so thankful that God showed up where I didn't expect Him just because He loves me enough to make EVERYTHING spiritual.

The best story ever...

So today the janitor came by to chat.
He's a sweet man (though sometimes troublesome) and he looks like a pair of green overalls would turn him right into Luigi.
After a half hour, he told me he went to buy groceries.

I really needed to get back to work.

And then he said........

"I walked out to the car and they was this lady. She was holding the back of her head. She got in her car but was just a sitting there. She looked hurt. So I went to the window and knocked. I said 'Lady, you awright?". She was cryin' and said 'NO! I just got SHOT and my brains are coming out!"
I figured right there she's a nut case and grabbed the store manager and told him he had a crazy lady in the parking lot. They called the police. He came out and kept trying to get her to open the door but she wouldn't take her hands off her head. Kept sayin' she got shot and her brains was a comin' out. The policeman finally had to break the window...and you won't believe it. I just saw it and walked a lady. That dad-gum lady went grocery shoppin' and had been right by the canned biscuits when one exploded. And you know what was on the back of her head?...."

Wow...that's amazing.

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas to Me!!!

Did I really fill up for that?!I took mom to see the Nutcracker for Christmas!
(ignore the datestamp....I need to photoshop it :))

The ladies!
(Twila, left, is marrying my cousin Korey. We LOVE Twila! Samantha, in the Santa hat, is my mini-me)
Yup....that's my grandma with a bow on her head. Wow.

Christmas Rebellion

Things I Have Learned from Beth Webb

I told you I could write a book about it ;)


Chapter 1: How to save money. If you don't know Beth, just go read her blog. She's a master at this!

Chapter 2: How to serve people. No explanation needed here.

Chapter 3: How to be a great mom. Last night, Beth explained to me that she has Peyton sit with her while they (beth) clean up. That way, when Peyton is old enough to clean up her toys it'll be a routine. Wow.

Chapter 4: The joy of nerdy board games. If you've never seen the Webb's closet-o-games, you must. They have quite the collection and are kind enough to entertain people like me who are handicapped when it comes to strategy games.

Chapter 5. The importance of honesty and forgiveness: I've come to the conclusion that there are certain levels to which no friendship, or other relationship for that matter, can go without someone needing to forgive the other. Beth is great at both sides of this equation. Infractions don't mean the end of a friendship, they often mean the beginning of a better one. Which explains a lot about why God let the whole sin thing happen.

Chapter 6: Why God makes us different. For a super-right-brainer like me, someone with the organizational skill of Beth makes me sit back in amazement. God makes us unique for a reason and the body works better when it works together :)

Chapter7: How to invest in people: "Wanna come over and play a board game?" "Wanna come over and watch lost?" "Wanna just come over?" i hear this stuff from the Webb's all the time. They're never too busy, too stressed, too into their own lives to invest in their friends Yay for that :)

Chapter 8: How to loosen up about "certainty". Washington? sure! Georgia? Why not! Florida, Alabama, ok! This chick moves a LOT. The thought of that much change makes my skin crawl, but not Beth! I've never really asked why....but I would venture to say that it's because she finds her security in Christ and not in her location (or she just likes moving a lot ha ha).

Chapter 9: Why LOST is the best show ever made. Again, no explanation needed here.

Holiday $$$

Ok, I get it...we're ALL over hearing about holiday sales. I am too!

BUT the goal for this year is, get the presents on my list under budget, and use the left-over funds to buy a few presents for a people who wouldn't expect them, people like the janitor, the nice lady at sushi express, or maybe even a student or two.

Soo...I'm bargain hunting and they're popping up in the darnest of places!

Fun Finds so far:

• Hobby Lobby: All wrapping supplies are 1/2 off. I got 100 ft. of wrapping paper (the really cool kind-not lame kind) for $3.50. Huge roll!
• Dollar General: Seriously fun presents. I found an alarm clock with a helicopter that flies away and must be retrieved before turning off the alarm. Hilarious! $5
• Eckerd: 50% on Christmas toys. WHOA! I got some really, really cool gifts for under $10!

Where are your Christmas finds?

Great Day

Today was a great day.

I make a LOT of jokes about my family, but the truth is, I just LOVE being around them.

I love the little ones. I love how they say "Cuthin Cwistal's Here" with all the excitement they can stand.

I love that my 60-year-0ld aunt has found the love of her life (after the tragic loss, both mental and physical, of her husband) and is getting married in December.

I love that every time I see her, all I can think about is how much she invested in me as a college student.

I love that her new husband "Uncle Will" will be an uncle for the first time in his life.

I love that they both love Jesus.

I love that my Grandma is the busiest 80-year-old you'll ever see.

I love that we celebrate each other and don't tear each other down.

I love that we tell the same stories over and over.

I love that we eat well.

I love that one of us is always on a diet.



I love that 4 hours driving time was totally worth it (2 weekends in a row!).