b uti wi llm iss u

you are everything i want. and nothing i need.

and so it is...

giving more than 'thanks'

i just got home from the gym and i think the people there probably think im mean or mad. i just tend to think a lot when i work out and today my thoughts were confusing and disturbing...and thus the outlook on my face. oh well.

'tis the season for these familiar thoughts.

this morning while i was having breakfast with my nephews, delicious sausage and some yogurt, a commercial came on for some hot wheels. my nephew's (age six) eyes light up (like they do anytime he sees A toy) and he gets excited about the 29 day count down till christmas (aka the day he will get many presents). he goes on to express his excitement by signing:
'happy birthday to...dante!'
whoa whoa whoa. back up back up...who's birthday are we celebrating?, i ask
again,
happy birthday to dante?
um actually its JESUS' birthday, you know - the reason for the season?
OH YEAH!, he remembers. and starts the song again this time, 'happy birthday to YOU - during 'you' he points up (towards heaven i presume).

it was quite comical but made me think at the same time. are these holidays even real or is it just an excuse to consume? giving and receiving stuff. stuff that i want and feel like i need.

later while i was working out, CNN informs us that there are terrorist attacks going on in mumbai whilst i am on the elliptical. i feel a burden - that i am not grateful enough for being safe, for being born in a safe country. for not showing my thanks by giving more. who am i to have all that i have? and who are they (they being anyone living in poverty) to not have enough?

a commercial plays. its a commercial for starbucks, which is rare. it was about how they have partnered with the 'red' campaign (in the war fighting against aids). it asks questions like "what if its not about ME, what if its about WE." it was actually a really good commercial. i mean, it ALMOST justifies spending $4 on a coffee (which i am completely guilty of).

i pray that our country will be burdened with the weight of our 'stuff' that we are challenged to give more, but spend less. not be consumed by what the media makes of this season. make it clear to me Lord where i should spend my time and energy and money. thank you for blessing my life. remind me to not be too comfortable. stretch me and use me. i pray that the situation in mumbai will be under control soon and i pray for those who are scared. use that situation for good somehow.

re: iguana in my mouth

so i wanted to look up a picture to show people this lizard that attacked me and i found it. i found out that it is commonly named the "jesus christ lizard" - because it can walk/run on water. cra-zy. which verifys my story seeing that my mouth was at the level of the water. in the dark. ( it looked just like this)

and that is how that sorta thing happens.

stay tunned to hear about when we almost got the poison dart frog in our mouth.
dang it.

pura vida!

this means "pure life." duh.
everyone just says it here.
here being the fabulous place of la fortuna, costa rica.
we love it. and it may not exsist in 4 years because it sits at the base of an ACTIVE volcano. so that means red lava is shooting out every 2 minutes. im not even joking - im at javalava right now looking at it.
yesterady we went on a hike through the jungle to a waterfall - on the way we found a ocelot which is like a jaguar. it was just a cub and so we played with it and picked it up, hoping the mom wasnt watching. later in the hot springs lindsay and i were hanging out in this little cave where the water is up to your neck and there are only a couple inches above your head. it was so fun and laughing and then BAM - iguana in my mouth. it was lime green and the lenth of my arm (with tail). i FREAKED out and grabed the closest stranger next me. oh yes and this cave is quite dark and small so at the time i had no idea what had just attacked my FACE. it jumped on lindsay's back and finally someone with a flash light came and caught it. at which point i forgave the poor guy and held it a bit before setting it free outside the cave. it turns out i actually loved him.

communal living anyone?

ever since i read shane claibornes book "irresistible revolution" i have thought of how cool it would be to live in a big house with a bunch of people. If there were just like 10 of us... singles, couples, kids (just no pets:)) who share the same purpose (that is to serve jesus) and just do life together. Rent would be really cheap and we could take turns cooking. We would have big bbqs and game nights. book clubs and charity events. I dont know how realistic it is but if you are interested, let me know.

Also check out thesimpleway.org - their mission is "to love God. to love people. and to follow Jesus."

"love"

this was the title of the message this morning at church. which is probably the most broad title ever, but the message was so good and i love the pastor, jim burgen. he is real and the messages are challenging in an encouraging kind of way. anyway, he talked a bit about peter walking on the water. and how we shouldn't just sit in the boat. maybe we will fail, but like a dad teaching his kid to ride a bike, God's just gonna come along side and tell us "you almost had it, keep going." he talked about the things God wants to do through us that no one would even believe. how later peter might have been sitting around with friends telling the story "this one time..."
anyway, i love this verse:

"look at the nations and watch-
and be utterly amazed.
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told."

habukkuk 1:5

i love it

and i wanna be apart of it

meow

"But I never felt like I had much choice with Jesus; he was relentless. I didn't experience him so much as the hound of heaven, as the old description has it, as the alley cat of heaven, who seemed to believe that if it just keeps showing up , mewling outside your door, you'd eventually open up and give him a bowl of milk. Of course, as soon as you do, ... he's sleeping on your bed every night, and stepping on your chest at dawn to play a little push-push... I was tired and vulnerable and he won... He started sleeping on my bed that night. It was not so bad. It was even pretty nice. He loved me, he didn't shed or need to have his claws trimmed, and he never needed a flea dip. I mean, what a savior, right?"

ha. this is a quote by anne lamott - a author who spoke in lakewood the other night.
i have read three of her books, and thoroughly enjoy her writing. she is the type of person that makes you think "wait, you believe what!?" and "yeah, i feel the same way" all in the same chapter. her writing is humorous and honest. she is a liberal hippy and so i was expecting the like to be at her talk. nope. all older cute little ladies. the ladies who meet for book club on tuesday and knitting night on thursday. in fact there was a lady about 3 rows in front of us who was knitting whilst listening to anne lamott. i mean i guess you cant get behind on those kind of things. and by that age you can just knit in your sleep practically. or have a serious conversation with your friend. you hear the clickity-click of the needles in the background while talking on the phone. im gonna be like that.

ANYWAY, if you are interested you should check out "traveling mercies."
i love talking about things that are controversial. and anne lamott definitely fits into that category.

here are some more fun quotes by her:

“You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

“A hundred years from now? All new people.”

“When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens.”

"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.”