TIA Wednesday

(Wednesday is the new Tuesday, right? I'll get my act together soon. Promise.)

This week, I want to give a shout-out to the top 3 things in America that still continue to surprise me, even 4 months and 12 days after returning

1) Hot showers. Sorry I'm not sorry for taking 30 minute showers sometimes. I could stand under the high-pressure, hot water shower head forever. While I still love the idea of only showering once every four days (you save so much time!), nothing can keep me from showering very often in America. Let's face it - I do my best life-processing in the shower. And it sure is a lot easier to stand in a hot shower thinking for 30 minutes than a cold, drippy one.

2) My bed. It may be a free hand-me-down bed, but it's big and plush and isn't filled with dirt & bugs and doesn't have a crater in the middle and isn't surrounded by a princess tent mosquito net. This is the first time in my life that I've ever not slept in a twin bed. And I love it. I love my four pillows. I love being reunited with my dog. Best of all, I've had the joy of figuring out how to sleep in it. I was very conflicted at first about it, so I ended up sleeping diagonally so I didn't have to decide what side to sleep on. But in the interest of my future husband, I have chosen a side this week and love the commitment.

3) Unlimited cookies & ice cream. I can eat a whole bag of cookies whenever I want...which I don't usually do...but...

Abide With Me

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, abide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth did smile

And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,

Thou hast not left me, though I oft left thee;

On to the close, Lord, abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour.

What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?

Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.

I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless.

Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness.

Where is thy sting, death? Where grave thy victory?

I triumph still, abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.

Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, Lord, abide with me.

TIA Tuesday - Oops

I know it's Wednesday.

I also know that yesterday, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when I read that Tennessee is one of the only states in America that might not feels the pains of the national pumpkin shortage. Due to droughts, hurricanes, and other extreme weather around the US, it was announced several weeks ago that 2011 would be a pumpkin shortage year. I have been on the pumpkin hunt since then, buying canned pumpkin anytime I see it in the store. My local Kroger's pumpkin shelf has been empty for weeks - and the only day that it did have some, I swept all of the remaining 10 cans off the shelf to stash in my pantry. However, despite the good news for us Tennesseans, they're predicting that pumpkins themselves may be sold out as soon as the 15th.

This Is America, where people hoard pumpkin even though we have complete access to a plethora of other good and healthy foods around every corner.

Not to mention having a car to carry home ten cans of pumpkin (I would never try to hike with those in my backpack!). Or having enough money to buy canned pumpkin. Or buying something that is essentially non-essential, even if it is mouth-wateringly delicious.

TIA.

[An update from NPR. Go ahead. Breathe a sigh of relief.]

I Have a Job?!

Yikes. I never told you about my job! And today is not the day for a big job post...but I promise to write that soon. We're approaching my 2 month anniversary, so now is better than ever to share two exciting things happening at my job; two things that are bound to make you giggle.

The first is this feature on the Red Earth Trading Co. blog.

The second is this video that Adam and I made, encouraging you to go vote for Global Support Mission* in the Giving of Life grant. Go vote now!

Welcome to the best job in the world. I am blessed.

Global Support Mission is the greater organization that I work for - Red Earth Trading Co. is a direct-trade arm of our organization.

It's Back...

Nothing could have made this great night even better - except these two things:

Arrested Development. It's back. Daily AD Office Lunches are about to get even better.

I'm peeing with excitement about it - which I'm sure is what Will Arnett meant to say if he hadn't been limited by 140 characters.

Welcome, October!

I learned that it is not okay to share - even with your fellow crazy-about-Christmas friends - that you wore flannel and watched "Elf" while drinking hot chocolate on September 30. Apparently, this is unacceptable to anyone except me. Haters...

So tonight, I tried to think of a more autumnal movie. Am I right when I say there aren't too many? Thankfully, I own just one that is covered in the bright colors of the changing leaves:

This film may not be about fall at all, aside from two outdoor strolling scenes. But it sure is a keeper. Blame it on my mom: she loved this movie, and passed along her love for it to me, albeit belatedly. In fact, it is one of the five movies I took with me to Namibia.

(side note: what are your five "desert island" movies?)


But despite this enchanting autumn scene, I can't possible write about "When Harry Met Sally" without telling you my favorite monologue. Is it too cliche to love this scene? My heart just wrenches.

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend a day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you're the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize that you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Sigh.

So welcome, October. Welcome flannel shirts, crisp mornings, hot chocolate, pumpkin EVERYTHING, raking leaves, bowls of Halloween candy, and Christopher Columbus.

Worship in Unexpected Places - Part 2

Several years ago, I read Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi by musician David Crowder. I was struck enough by this quote to add it to my Facebook page at the time:

"What if we were so moved by who God is, what He's done, what He will do, that praise, adoration, worship, whatever, continuously careened in our heads and pounded in our souls? This what we will do for eternity. What makes us think our time on earth should be any different?"

Recently, as I was thinking about stumbling upon worship in unexpected places, I was brought back to this quote. Why shouldn't we worship in all places, at all times? Why does worship have to feel so unexpected when it's not happening in a sanctuary?

For example, I've been learning this fall that worship can be found in friends. I'm not talking about large group gatherings, but one-on-one times. In meaningful conversation and belly laughter. In people who know and love the depths of each others' hearts enough to enter into the mess of life & challenge each other to keep on keepin' on in his or her walk with Christ.

A glimpse: about a week into living in our house, friends Kiely and Fuchs came over for dinner. Not just any dinner, but the first dinner I had ever cooked in my house. It was simple and spontaneous. It started at our hand-me-down dining room table, where I nearly fell out of my seat during grace because our chairs are on casters. Cue belly laughter. Dinner was followed by long conversation on our front porch, sipping out of mason jars and soaking in the warm summer air.

So moved by who God is...
my Father, my Savior, the One whose promises never, ever cease
...what He's done...
delivered me from the depths of Namibia into the arms of Nashville, into the arms of these dear friends
...what He will do...
continue to provide exactly what I need, exactly when I need it
...that worship continuously careens in my head and pounds in my soul.

Striving to recognize worship in the unknown, in the routine, in the mundane. Because if this is what we truly believe, then none of this is mundane. Each moment - especially those in which we partake with our brothers and sisters - should be full of worship and thankfulness.