A Few Random Faves

My last post was about pet peeves and personal irritants, so I thought to counteract that, this day's post would be about random things that pleased me versus peeved me. :) Here goes!

-candles: lots of candles, candlelight, scented candles, pillar candles, taper candles, floating candles, CANDLES
-Goodwill: as in the store. I love the feel of a good hunt for fun yet cheap clothes
-the color blue
-anything potato
-hot tea: black, green, white, herb, it's all grand
-naps: not the piddly kinds, but the 2+ hour kinds
-vanilla scented body spray/wash
-jersey sheets
-techno/dance music
-Indian food, on occasion
-TOMS shoes
-crocheting
-crafts
-stuffed animals: I never really grew out of them, and my husband let me keep mine mostly because they're from him :P
-Chihuahuas: This is a recent discovery that I wasn't even aware of! But, lately, I've been wanting one.
-plants: I love green growing stuff, especially in the house
-painted toes: you always need that splash of color, even in the winter
-Almond snickers: because they're yummy and rare, and because I can eat them, unlike the peanut kind
-Antique/thrift stores
-Young adult fiction: some deep themes and usually easier to read than a Russian novel though...
-Classic literature: is always one of my faves
-Dried flowers: I love saving my roses :)
-Photography: editing it, taking it, viewing it
-Just Dance: yeah, I'm an amazing dancer. I learned all my moves from this game ;)
-Cheddar peppers form Sonic
-Sonic's ice: you can chew it :)

Alright, plenty for now. I'm itchin' to go play some just dance!

What are some of your faves?

Enjoying simple things,
Jane

Personal Pet Peeves (just because)

For today, I would like to share a few personal pet peeves, you know, those little things that bother you that really make no difference in the grand scheme of life but will rub you wrong all day. So here it goes:

*wearing black with brown
*wearing black with navy
*wearing scrunchies
*dark lip liner (it's weeeeiiirdddd looking)
*mixing gold and silver jewelry
*digital clocks in the house not being exactly synced, but off by a minute (example, my alarm clock and my husband's alarm clock)
*Putting out Christmas items before Halloween
*"Happy Holidays"- No, I don't want you to have a happy holiday. It kinda sounds like "take a hike," doesn't it? I think I'll stick to Merry Christmas.
*Wearing leggings as pants
*Wearing "unwalkable" shoes (really...I mean, unless you want to just sit somewhere and look pretty, save yourself the pain and us the shock)
*Not putting ice in soda (it's waaaay too fizzy, AND who wants luke-warm soday? Eww.)
*Leaving lights on in rooms I'm not in
*smudged fingernail polish (you know, when that one didn't turn out right, but all the others did)
*loose change (where is all my money going? how much do I have wandering around the house?!)

Ok, I think that's it for now. I know I have more, but I'll add to it later ;)

Peeved,
Jane

How Fruity Are You?

Yep, how fruity are you? Are you displaying spiritual fruits, fruits of the Spirit? Here's different categories of godly fruitiness:

Paul, in Galatians 5, made a distinction between fruity behavior and not so fruity behavior:

"19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

Good fruit: love, joy peace, forbearance (patient endurance), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

Bad fruit (rotten tomatoes): sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies

I was reflecting on this passage last night after I received some disappointing news. God has chosen to close 2 doors I was sure I could easily walk through. No, or not now, He had said. In the wake of my disappointment, a whole slew of negative attitudes and perspectives came to the surface, and I realized they were not fruity, but more like rotten tomatoes. I was seeing impatience, self-focus, jealousy, and an impure heart. I was full of pride, bitterness, and I felt like I was in the right to feel that way. It was time to take a spiritual inventory.

So that night, I pulled out the Scriptures and read Galatians 5:22. As a believer, I should be living out my life full of all this good, heavenly fruit, but my my heart did not have love, joy, peace, patience, or feelings of kindness. I was in love with my ideas for my future, with myself, and not with God and others. I was discontent and restless, not sitting in joyful peace, which God gives us despite our circumstances. I felt angsty towards others, towards myself, towards God's plans. I was not in control (as always) and I didn't like it. I didn't agree with what God was doing. I don't like not having the answers. But then I realized, having love, joy, peace, etc. in my day to day life would make me a happier person, and no one was keeping me from this fruity life but me.

Therefore, I have decided to use this "waiting" time that I did not expect, this area in which I could be moping in disappointment, to see other areas of branching out. To love on others, to practice patience, to cast my idols of my own dreams and demands before God and re-evaluate my priorities.

Are you living a fruity life?

Savoring God's fruit,
Jane

Be Here Now

I have this condition that I call "not here now," which is the opposite of the affirmation that one should "be here now." Perhaps it's my slight ADD or OCD, CIA (gotcha on that one ;)), but whatever the case, I find myself thinking backwards into the past or straining forward to see the future. Hardly am I ever reflecting in the moment or sitting still. In fact, I think torture for me would be forced immobility. If I don't move or twitch, I get restless. Sitting still for long periods of time makes me tense.

So I have this problem. I rarely reflect on this present moment, or am wholly there in that moment. Which of course lessens lots of things in life like listening skills, savoring your food, enjoying a shower, relaxing during my commute and not just getting there, remembering a sermon or lecture...etc. Es no bueno.

How can we work on not being distracted, or focusing on the present? Life is only a necklace strand, each strand composed of moments en-captured in pearls. Beautiful pearls. Pearls forged in the rough oysters of life. But we can't look backwards and focus on the time when the strand broke or over-focus on the finished masterpiece. Life and the art of living are created pearl by pearl, moment by moment. Christ said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Solomon, a wise man, once reflected, "There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."

Each pearl, each "time," is beautiful when held in God's hands, with all things working together for good, not because the world is perfect, and each moment painless, but because our God is perfect. He allows us to rest in the moment and "be here now" because He knows our past and goes before us into our future, giving us peace.

Savoring each pearl,
Jane

Thoughts on Halloween

Everyone has different views and feelings towards Halloween, most of them instilled in them from childhood. Some never "celebrated," others attended "fall festivals," some dressed up as the grim reaper while others' mothers made them lady bugs or angels on October 31st (I have been the last two). My mom allowed me to go trick-or-treating and fall festival attending in my various creative outfits, usually something like a hippie, cowgirl, or gypsy that I'd pulled together out of my own closet. She usually inspected my candy after to make sure all the packages were sealed and no one had attempted to poison me.

Our home was decorated in a "fall celebration" theme. We once had a fairly cute ghost decoration I remember when I was in kindergarten, but the family consensus was that it bridged over into the darker, less innocent side of Halloween and shouldn't be kept in the house. In college, I was once Catwoman and then someone in a really pretty Victorian looking dress with lace gloves (I dubbed myself Rose from the Titanic. It looked appropriate).

So how should Christians approach Halloween? Is it a demonic holiday? Should our children participate? Can they dress up as ghouls and witches, or only super heroes and princesses? Should we attend "haunted houses" and watch scary movies around Halloween? Are we dabbling in the spiritual world, or is it all fun and games? Where is the line?

Clearly, this is a grey area of Christian liberty. But it's still something I mull over in my brain. What are your Halloween experiences and thoughts?

Reflecting,
Jane

Attempting to become a non-pansy blogger...

Yes, a non-pansy blogger. Not as in the plant, but as in hit and miss, here and there, and willy-nilly. Blogging and I need to be in a committed relationship, 1) Because I enjoy it 2) Because writing is therapeutic for me and 3) Because I think it brings a small ounce of joy into my readers' lives.

So my goal for now is to instate a 30-day challenge, to write a blog a day, no matter how pitiful the subject, for every day of Novemeber.

Here I go! Wish me luck :)

Ready to share my thoughts,
Jane

Marriage 101: Fears debunked and real-life application

Marriage.

Before I got married, this word was rather frightful to me, even when I was happily engaged (ask any of my friends, they can attest to this). I think the sheer magnitude of it scared the pants off me (not literally), since I don't believe in divorce and I only believe in a forever commitment. Can I really love? Will I feel "trapped"? How do I care selflessly for someone else when I'm despicably self-focused? These were all thoughts that rushed through my head. Less important thoughts included things such as "Can I cook?" and "What's 'simmer' mean?" Seemed like rough waters ahead in the domestic realm.

I discovered that it was not nearly as terrifying as I thought, for I had forgotten that I had many support systems, namely God, my husband, and my parents, in that order. Thankfully, neither my mom or mother-in-law is a Martha Stewart, so my cooking attempts sufficed, and sometimes wowed my husband. That was a happy surprise. I've been grateful from the time we started dating for my mans's patience and encouragement, and that has only grown and become more evident in our marriage. I remind myself, and him when he's hard on himself, that neither of us have been married before. Therefore, we're going to blunder, fumble the ball, misunderstand, get frustrated, and whatnot. And it's OK. It's OK because we communicate and we have made a commitment to love.

We committed to love the other, which doesn't always mean you'll like each other. And this is also OK. As my parents' kid, I remember telling them at times "I love you, but I don't feel I like you very much right now," which was the truth. Like/dislike, happiness/sadness...these come and go. But the underlying foundation in my family growing up was love, and even when we weren't happy and didn't like each other at that moment, there was still a commitment of love. And that's something my husband and I share as well. We intentionally tell each other we love each other, kiss goodbye/hello, and pray together before we fall asleep.

Honestly, adjusting from being engaged to married was not that difficult. My husband and I would spend all our extra time together except for sleeping hours, so the only difference was that he didn't have to go home after 11pm. We still have fun, if not more fun, now that we're married. And there's no thoughts that if either of us slips up, the other will call it off. We are home, and we are forever together :) And though we're still in the "honey-moon" phase of our relationship and I know relationships and life aren't all smooth-sailing, I'm along for the ride. I'm content because he's not in control, God's in control. And my husband and I continuously give our issues to Him. And as long as we do that, and remain committed to each other, I'm not afraid. "Perfect love casts out fear," and this love is God's love. A marriage built on that love can be fearless, fun, and fulfilling. And that makes me excited about the future :)