25 Neurotic random thoughts on a gray day

Here are 25 thoughts in no particular order (though realize they all reside in my head at the same time!)

1. I don't think I could handle living in Seattle. This gray day is making me weepy! I'm thankful for sunny Texas.
2. I need to make an appetizer, and soon.
3. My dog smells like overdead fish.
4. I have one million things to do in the garden, including moving renegade strawberry plants.
   
5. My ankle feels weird.
6. My Dwight Shrute bobble head makes me smile.
7. The sign on my desk hanging over a cross says "Joy." It's a good reminder.
8. My stomach is funny.
9. I can't wait to sit down and write another novel. The characters are talking to me.
10. I feel guilty for not exercising today.
11. I shouldn't have snapped at hubby on the phone. (He called just as I was about to eat, after my stomach got really grumbly. All I wanted was food, not conversation!)
12. I hope I can stay up past ten tonight.
    
13. Shallow: I like my new cell phone.
14. Fuzzy socks pretty much make any day happy.
    
15. Daughter Julia is beautiful, inside and out.
16. Our cat has a microchip in her neck (spy kitty) and an EU passport with her picture.
17. I'm wearing a fake wedding ring (bought it on Amazon). Mine needs fixin'.
18. Daughter Sophie makes me laugh.
19. Things are different when you're in your forties.
20. I like wood floors.
21. I love that Aidan earned money this break, and with that money, he's saving it to go to Ghana next summer.
    
22. I love gift cards.
23. Scary movies with demon-y things disturb me.
24. I remember dialing on the phone. And 8 tracks. And so many other ancient things like that.
25. Jesus makes me stable.
    

That's it! Your turn. What random things are on your mind?

The Year in Photos

Pippin the wonder dog, bearing gifts.

Aidan's 13th birthday.

Sunset near our house last winter.

Daisy Chain book signing at Legacy Books. The cake was amazing!

With Susan Meissner at the Christian Book Expo. She won Book of the Year!

Tosca, me, Jonathan and Meredith out in Santa Cruz during Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference.

Me with kids, hanging.

Early spring, me with hubby.

Sophie's choir banquet friends.

Filming a book trailer in Illinois.

At Write to Publish. I keynoted! This is my friend Rachelle. We roomed together. Great talks.

Sophie went to Ghana!

I added D'Ann Mateer and Leslie Wilson to The Writing Spa! Woot!

Julia and her friend Clara at her 11th birthday party.

In Washington state, on our vacation. The kids are acting like Edward Cullen.

Aidan knee boarding for the first time.

Me at ACFW with Mrs. Montana (and friend!) Angie. Just prior to this I spoke at She Speaks, but I don't have pictures from then!

Sophie's trip to Washington DC. She got to present flowers at Arlington Cemetery. Wow.

Proof that I did something on my bucket list this year. U2 baby!!!!

Book signing at Legacy Books for A Slow Burn.

Sophie's Homecoming 2009.

Novelist retreat with Nicole Baart and Tosca Lee.

Fun discipleship retreat in Oklahoma. Sophie took this picture.

Friend brunch (right around the time of Sophie's birthday party, but I don't have pictures of that.)

New profile pictures taken by Sophie! Yeah!

I ended the year taking pictures of families and authors to raise money to go to Cape Town next year. So far, very fun and successful!

That's it. Our year in pictures. I hope you enjoyed it!

Long ago and far away

My father took these pictures of me when I was four and five years old, some difficult years. Seeing them again make me sad and happy all at once. Sad because I see how very young I was when I faced adult-sized trials. Happy because I still can't believe Jesus stooped low to lift me up and save me in every possible way.

I am whole.

Alive.

Thankful.

New.

Rejuvenated.

Set free.

Humbled.

Rejoicing.

Full of hope.

All because He saw me then, chose me, and dared to shame the wise through the foolishness of me. Thank You Jesus.

Seventeen Years Ago Today

Seventeen years ago today, my water broke! And now . . . I have a beautiful daughter, Sophie!
Me pregnant. Boy was I sick . . . all nine months.
On Christmas Eve (late that night). After this, they put a santa hat on Sophie who weighed six pounds eleven ounces. They presented her in a stocking. She still has it.
Here she is at four months old.

The irony of Mary being in labor on Christmas Eve was interesting. Too bad Patrick's name isn't Joseph--it would've made an interesting story! We celebrated Christmas in Harrison Memorial Hospital in Bremerton, Washington, happy to be first time parents. When we brought her home, we worried. We had barely changed a diaper before. I kept thinking she would die.

But she didn't! And now she's beautiful, intelligent, kindhearted and hilarious. Sophie was the best Christmas Eve present I've ever received!

Odds and Ends

Sorry I've been off the radar lately. No excuses other than the hustle and bustle of this time of year. Here's a mini update.

Yesterday, my dear daughter Sophie took photos of me for a new headshot. You can see one above. She did an amazing job! You can see the rest of them here.

We just learned that the project Aidan, our son, has helped and dreamed of is coming full circle. Lakepointe Church and a host of other amazing donors has helped secure money to create a pipeline for a village called Sankpem in Ghana. I can't think of a better Christmas gift.

My daughter Sophie's 17th birthday is Christmas Eve. She was hoping to sing that song "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" in a gazebo with someone named Rolf, but we don't know anyone named Rolf (and Rolf has fascist tendencies) so I guess that will never happen. Unless of course, you are Rolf.

I'm thinking through that old end of the year reorientation thing. I'm working out again (thankfully) and trying to eat more whole foods. I'm ramping up my gardening efforts, thinking through how to better connect with all my kids, and wondering what God has in store for me in 2010.

One huge praise: I'm headed to Cape Town South Africa in October! And the Lord (through the generosity of others) has already provided the registration fee. Now to raise the airfare and hotel.

I loved Julie & Julia. Why? I adore cooking (and Lord willing, someday I'll write that cookbook!), and so much of it was shot in France, which actually conjured up some good memories for me. I'm so thankful for that. Plus I totally related to the idea of trying so hard to get a book published. I teared up when each person got that contract.

I have a new moleskine for 2010, anticipating what tasks, dreams, relationships will fill its pages. Two books will release. Perhaps I'll be writing another book; I hope so. I'm grateful, humbled, and blessed to have written seven published books! What a privilege!

I pray you all have an amazing Christmas, a new year with surprises from the hand of God, and a heart fully devoted to Him.

Our 13-year-old son's vision: water in Ghana

(Here we're standing on the site where they tried to get water)

Here is an article Aidan wrote for a major Christian publication last year. The water for Sankpem has yet to be found, so we continue to raise money for it. You may donate here. On the pull down menu, click "fresh water: Ghana" to donate to this specific project.

Wells in Africa: My Dream

It was the happiest night of my life. Here I was at twelve years old, dancing with tribe members on the other side of the world. The drumbeats pounded in my chest. I felt the Lord’s presence like I’ve never felt before while I danced in a circle with my new Ghanaian friends. Together, we were dancing for Jesus while bugs the size of Oreos buzzed all around us. But that didn’t stop us from dancing.

This crazy adventure started a year before when my parents talked about the need for wells and water in Africa around the dinner table. When I started sixth grade, I decided to run for treasurer of my school. I had to write a speech and wanted to have something catchy in my speech. So I decided to use raising money to dig wells in Africa as my main point. But unfortunately, I lost the election.

I came home from school very sad. I told my mom what happened, and she thought I was sad because I lost the election. I stopped her and said, “Mom, it’s not that. Now I can’t raise money for wells in Africa. God has burned in my heart a desire to dig wells in Africa and I can’t get that out of my heart.”

That night, my parents were having dinner with our missions pastor. And he decided to open an account at church so I could raise money for wells on my own. Right after that, I had to decide which country in Africa I would help. Our church had well projects in two places: Nigeria and Ghana. I prayed about the decision and I chose Ghana.

Soon I found out that there was a village in Northern Ghana called Sankpem that desperately needed water. Almost every year, a woman died trying to get water for her family. I found out there was a team of people going to the same area of Ghana in the summer. So my mom and I raised money to go to Ghana with the team. And I also raised money to complete the well project in Sankpem.

While we were waiting to go, I got two discouraging emails about the well project. The well-digging company drilled once, but did not hit water. They tried again, and still didn’t hit water. Despite all that, I still wanted to visit Sankpem for myself.

In June of 2008, we flew to Ghana. We started out in a town in Northern Ghana called Tamale. Every day, I went out with my translator, Emmanuel, into the slums near a seminary and shared about Jesus with the people. I told them the story about God creating the world all the way through to Jesus’ death and resurrection. I got to see a lot of Muslims come to faith in Jesus. Before I went to Ghana, I prayed one person would meet Jesus. And here I was seeing several people come to Him.

Later during the trip, I got to see Sankpem. About 1,000 people live in Sankpem, and about twenty adults attend church there. I saw little children playing in the fields, and I watched as a lady walked past us, a huge jar of water on her head. I stood on the two places where they tried to dig wells. The ground was all dry rock, no water. The village elder told us, “We’re very sorry that you spent all that money and we still didn’t get water. If we had hit water, we’d be having celebrations right now.” We prayed that one day Sankpem would have water in their village.

I hope that a pipeline can be made from Sankpem’s nearest village neighbor about ten kilometers away. I’m raising money for that (cost approximately $10,000) and for a rainwater capturing system for the village. Next year, when I go to Sankpem, I pray the village elder will be holding a huge celebration because water has come to Sankpem.

This trip has changed me in many ways. I don’t take the water that comes out of my faucet at home for granted. I’m not as much of a consumer as I used to be. I now have many friends on the other side of the world that taught me how to truly follow Jesus and trust Him for everything. One of my friends said that for ten years he never knew when his next meal was coming, but he learned to trust God. I want to have that kind of faith in God, not in stuff.

I never knew that at the beginning of my sixth grade year that God would take me from a failed election to where I am now. Losing the election was probably the best thing that happened in my life. I will never be the same.

What I’d love to see is a bunch of young people like myself to begin to dream bigger dreams, dreams that only God can give, dreams that only He can bring about. My dream is to bring water to a village on the other side of the world. What is your dream?

Five Tips to Slow Down and Simplify the Holidays

With the holidays fast approaching, a dirge of dread seeps into me, though “Jingle Bells” is already haunting my local supermarket. I ask myself questions you probably ask yourself:

• Will I run ragged this holiday season?
• Will I spend too much?
• Will I miss out on important moments with my kids in my busyness?
• Will I battle regret after it’s all said and done?

There’s got to be a better way to shepherd my family through the holidays—to be able to slow down enough to enjoy each other and not get caught up in the rat race of preparation and money-frenzied spending. Here are five easy ways:

Dashing Through the Web

Take advantage of the Internet now while the holidays are still a ways away. Use your breaks strategically to shop for friends, co-workers or family members. Have online stores shipped directly to you, or to your relatives far, far away. Opt for gift-wrapping to save even more time. Worried about your privacy information? Make sure there’s a little lock icon that pops up on the Internet store you’re shopping on. Or become very familiar with one particular store you trust.
Last year, we moved from France to the United States in mid-December. What saved me hours and hours of work and shopping and preparation was ordering presents off the Internet. The kids loved their gifts, and I loved the freedom online shopping allowed me as I busied myself with moving details.

In an Open Minded Way

Simplifying the holidays comes down to our ability to rethink them in an open-minded, level headed way. Ask yourself and your family these questions, and dare to answer them honestly:
• Do we really need to buy a present for each of the people we bought for last year?
• What would happen if we chose to fast media for the month of December?
• Will it be a good use of my time to write all my Christmas cards?
• What would it look like if I limited my cooking and baking?
• What would our holidays feel like if we spent more time at home, less time in programs, pageants or shopping?
• If we could design the perfect day of celebrating the holidays, what would it look like?
• What three activities would we really miss if we didn’t do them? Can we choose to pare down everything in favor of these three activities?
• How can we donate our time, talent or treasures this Christmas in a way that brings our family together?

O’er the Fields We Go

One of the great losses families have experienced over the last several years is a connection with the outdoors. We’ve cocooned ourselves from the natural world. This holiday season, instead of staking claim to a mall or a discount big box store, find adventure outside. Take walks in holiday-themed neighborhoods. Go ice skating. Sing Christmas carols to your neighbors. Hike through a nature trail. Feed the ducks at a local lake. You’ll not only gain much needed, stress-busting exercise, but you’ll also bond as a family as you experience God’s creation together.

Laughing all the Way

The holidays can be a convoluted, painful time, with expectations aplenty and reminders of the past. For the sake of your kids, dare to create new memories on the shoulders of painful ones. Rent funny holiday movies. Play games. Construct a puzzle together. Play charades with another family. Determine to spend less money and more time. Give yourself permission to relax. Choose to see December as a Sabbath month instead of a hectic one, realizing family closeness and laughter often comes in unplanned moments.

Making Spirits Bright

Helping others during the holidays is a great way to simplify and slow down your pace. It helps focus you and your family on the needs of others. A really cool option is to click on www.worldvision.org. Go to their gift catalog page. Here you and your family can mutually decide how you’d love to bless the needy this Christmas. Give a goat to a needy village. Send funds to dig a well for a village with no water source. Supply lunch for school children. This is one way to give a gift that will actually be used, and will help your children see the needs beyond their front door.

Simplifying the holidays is doable. Dare to take back your holidays this year. You’ll gain time, energy, fellowship, and peace—all things a family desperately needs this time of year.

When the Boulder Became a Pebble

I had the privilege of reading a remarkable book this week: Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places by L. L. Barkat.

In many ways, Barkat spoke to my heart (or rather, the Holy Spirit, through her pen, whispered some lifechanging words.) Consider this:

"Or maybe, in a kind of selfish pride,
I prefer the Master side of God better than the Child,
so I look for the big ministry opportunities
while neglecting hundreds of opportunities
presented every day--in the fields of my common relationships."
(p. 82).

I resonate with her struggle. I, too, seem to prefer the spectacular to the mundane. But as this season of Advent meanders (or rushes, depending on how you look at it), I can't stop thinking about God as a Child, a Baby.

He reconfigured His majesty in the womb of a peasant. He stooped lower than we'll ever stoop. He, the Rock of Ages, became, in the quarry of His own making, a pebble, good for paths underfoot.

While I dream of doing big things for God, I forget the pebble, the humility, the stark reality of God becoming Child. In the greatest reversal of history, God traded opulence for ordinariness--for the sake of us who walk with Him underfoot.

In that musing, I revisit Barkat's words. Perhaps worshiping the Baby in a Manger has more to do with loving folks in ordinary, pedestrian ways. Of lowering ourselves enough to see who it is He places before us. If God so lowered Himself to relate and commune with us, shouldn't we follow in His footsteps? To stoop? To empty? To open our eyes to the divine possibilities in our daily lives?

Lord, forgive us for trying to be grandiose. For forgetting the humility You portrayed by emptying Yourself of accolades. What a holy risk You took by becoming a pebble--and what a risk! We, who trample You underfoot, ask Your forgiveness. Help us today to honor Your transformation by becoming part of Your redemptive plan. By loving those You place in our lives in quiet, unheralded moments. Help us to pick up a pebble today and consider what You've done. Help the weight of it in our pockets remind us to walk humbly and simply with You, being attuned to Your whispers, no matter what they say. Amen.

***

If you're looking for a contemplative, beautifully written book, I'd encourage you to pick up a copy or five (great for Christmas gifts!).

Three Happy Words

Snow
In
Rockwall!