Friday Favorites!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome

GOOD: Having this last week at home to be able to spend time with Z & the furball & sleep in my own bed was MUCH appreciated. So thank you A&J for still giving me this past week off even with the slight change in my job. Just over a week ago I celebrated the marriage of my cousins O&B in hoosierland. On the way home, buzzing off of family time, I joked that I live in another country to one family member. Seriously, 6 hours or so in the car by oneself is a little too long for me. But I had safe travels & good weather & all is well. Then if you haven't read, the other day was Z's & my wedding anniversary. While our trip to Paris a few months ago was our true gift to one another, we still decided to go out for a nice meal & enjoy the afternoon in a neighboring town. I think it is safe to say that both Z & I are blown away at how fast 3 years of marriage has gone by & all that has happened in those few years. As a gift to ourselves we bought the blu-ray of the recent Lego movie & have been slowly learning to quote things other than the theme song "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME." Unikitty, pictured today, is one of my favorite characters overflowing with happiness & positivity until she just can't hold it all together anymore & she growls "Why can't people just be HAPPY!" While being happy takes work some times, it does make me happy that I say I live in another country & that country might just be where Unikitty resides too! Cloud Cuckoo Land!

BAD: The heartache that comes from a loved one finding out they have cancer & the hardships of the the unknown road ahead. This has been a year of great challenge through death & illness. And on another note, I won't be sleeping in my own bed for another two weeks as the plans go right now.

AWESOME: Knowing my family members head to Japan within the next month & others are settling into their new home in NE. AND knowing friends are coming back from a year in Malaysia is pretty great too. I don't know how soon these friends & I will be able to see each other face-to-face, but just to be back where it is more of a reality is wonderful. What makes all of this awesome is the use of things like Skype, FaceTime, & Google Hang.

WORD: Ephesians 4:11-16. Unity is only achieved through diversity & love beyond our human understanding.

coming up: 4 more weeks of camp! I'm stoked to be able to continue working at camp this summer & it's been such a great formative time in my call to ministry leadership that I'm sad to know it is temporary. So of course, except for the occasional hello, there will not be much time to post pieces of LIFE SPIRIT SPARKLE. In the mean time do not doubt that there is MUY LIFE SPIRIT SPARKLE being lived & loved & shared with the world & the world is wanting to know your LIFE SPIRIT SPARKLE too!

Friday Favorites: One Word 365!

This One 365: healthy updates has become one of my favorite things to share. In the midst of the ups & downs in life I am constantly taken back to something I learned many years ago through the ministries of Spoke Folk, PMS check-ins. Yes, that's right, Physical Mental Spiritual check-ins. When my brain starts whirling & I'm overwhelmed for better or worse PMS check-ins with myself & others help me to be honest to where I am in the moment.

Physically: I'm having sympathy pains for a friend recently diagnosed with cancer & going through tests. I'm missing cycling & yearning to take a yoga class. Camp food is decent, but it is not what I would normally eat at home so that creates some other interesting physical changes.

Mental: Mentally I've been lingering in the over joyed portion of the feelings wheel. Just the other day I celebrated 3 wonderful years of being married to my best friend & as you can see from the photo it turned out to be a beautiful day. The people that showed their support & love for us either through cards, phone calls, & Facebook was over the top & wonderful. We wouldn't be the couple or individuals that we are without all yall in our lives. And then on the opposite spectrum my heart is aching, literally, for my friend & all those with unknown health roads ahead. In reality, I acknowledge that includes all of us, but many of us don't know of the health concerns yet to come.

Spiritual: The Holy Spirit, she's my favorite! Yes, I said it. Recently I haven't found or taken time to do my daily dose of drawing or journaling or blogging or writing poetry, but there is no doubt in any piece of me that the Spirit is acting in, through, & around me pushing & pulling me into each day with deep breathes reminding me where I come from & giving me hope in what is yet to come.

SO there ya have it. My PMS check-in as of late. My job is great & I'm constantly learning something new & working with new people & learning pieces of their stories. My call to being the church in the world through Diaconal Ministry couldn't be a better fit for my outgoing relational community driven self.

What's your PMS?

Tuesday Tea Time!

Happy Tuesday! This is my one Tuesday off for the month of July & I have spent it enjoying the Today show, a spot of tea, getting my hair cut, eating fish fry from Scalawags, & taking a nap. The fun lunch & nap were all thanks to the power going out across town for a couple of hours. Naturally, most of what I wanted to get done today revolved around having electricity.

Seemingly Tuesday Tea Time is all about relaxing & enjoying the tea as well as those around you. I've been spoiled with the ability to do this many times. Today though was interrupted by the puppy & appointments & electricity.

So this afternoon I'm taking the time to breath deep, catch up on what I was unable to do earlier in the day & soak in the sun a bit.

Rolling with the punches & taking life day-by-day.