Updates told as an analogy

For those of you who have been following the life and times of Tina and Joe, you are well aware of the long and windy road that we've been traveling down. In a recent blog post I went so far as to discuss this path and my hopes for it becoming straight within the near future. Well, we're there. We have finally made it to the straight portion of our drive. Our life has been like a trip to an amusement park traveling cross-country by car. Sometimes the road was rough and the path was unclear. Sometimes there were slow-downs due to highway construction or accidents on the path ahead of us. Other times there was fog and we couldn't even tell if we were still on the road, much less where the road was leading. But we've finally come to the place in the drive where we can see the peaks of the roller coasters on the horizon. We're still a decent distance from our destination but we can see it on the horizon and we know we'll be there soon. Once we arrive we are aware that the going will be sometimes exciting and sometimes scary. There will be ups and downs on our roller coaster life. We'll still face times of waiting that may seem longer than we want to wait. The roller coaster we get in may not always meet up to our expectations for speed or thrill. There will be times when we're ready go pack it up and go back home and there will be other times when we are more than ready to get back on the roller coaster for another ride. I'm excited by where the road is leading and I'm both scared and enthusiastic to start the adventure ahead. But the best news of all is that we finally know where we're headed and we can see it on the road in front of us at last. For those of you who have been praying for our "travels", THANK YOU. We appreciate your prayers, love and support more than you can possibly know. Once we make it to our destination and pile out of our car I'll update you in something more than an analogy. For now, please know that your prayers are being answered and we've got quite an adventure in store for us!

Saying "Goodbye"

Today (October 22, 2009) is my last day as a Minnesotan. Those of you who have been following along in our little story know that we're in transition. Joe has already moved to Missouri and I stayed behind for a little extra paycheck while I gave my official notice at the University of Minnesota. It is interesting as I think about my nine months here at this job and I must say that I feel utterly appreciated and cared for as an employee at my current workplace. And I have since the beginning. My bosses, two ophthalmology specialists, have regularly shown or spoken their appreciation. And not just to me directly. I hear from others that my bosses have said something kind about me or my work. This week has been a week of going away celebration in my office. On Monday my two doctors ordered pizza for the entire department. Wednesday my co-worker made enchiladas for everyone (partly a business endeavor, partly to celebrate me). Today my co-workers are taking me to my favorite local restaurant, Raising Cane's. This afternoon the department is hosting a going away dessert event, complete with chocolate covered strawberries and other desserts. I do not know if everyone here is shown the same level of appreciation. I personally don't know that I have done anything so remarkable that I deserve such celebration. I am glad, though, to have had such a welcoming, loving workplace during my time in Minnesota. This year of Joe traveling was tough and I know that my co-workers and bosses made it much easier to be in Minnesota on my own. It will be tough leaving such a loving environment behind and I hope that I can take their behavior toward me as an example of how I should treat others in my next work environment.

Watch Out for Curves!

I was reading some of the "100 most read" verses on http://www.biblegateway.com/ and came across Prov 3:6: "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight". It occured to me, though, that my paths have not seemed so straight of late. My life feels much more like the famous Lombard Street in San Francisco, CA. This street is touted as the most curvy street in America and for good reason. As it goes down hill it has a series of tight corners. Driving down it is a very touristy experience and I cannot imagine what the homeowners think. Besides being a fun attraction, it is also a metaphor for how I have felt in the last year. Joe and I have meandered hither and yon with the path taking is one direction and then another and then another on our quest to find where God would have us settle. Go on staff with Crusade? No. Teach Bible at NCA? Nope. Pastoring a church in Memphis or Natchez? Not. Planting a church in Oklahoma? Nyet. Pastoring a church in Texas or Kentucky or Roland, OK? Not a chance. Planting a satellite church in Marshfield? No way. Are there any other ways for God to say "no" to us? Now we are pursuing another church opportunity, a door that opened unexpectedly and one which pursued us. We've been waiting on an answer for this opportunity since late August or early September. I'm praying that Proverbs 3:6 is true for us in this opportunity, that God is in the process of making our path straight. I'm ready to hit the road and drive directly into the next stage of our lives. No sharp corners. No potholes. No detours. Just a straight path into God's will for us. To quote Tom Cochran/Rascall Flatts, "Life is a Highway...." Hopefully you can honk and wave as you see me speeding past you on life's highway.

'Cuz I'm a wanderer, yes I'm a wanderer...

The past few weeks have been....interesting. Joe moved with our stuff back to Missouri because our landlord found someone to take over our lease a bit earlier than we really needed them to. Oh well. We're happy that we won't be moving all our earthly possessions in December in Minnesota. Again. But it has left Joe and me as wanderers, transients who are technically homeless. Joe has stayed with a collection of friends in Springfield while I have taken temporary shelter in the home of some friends here in the Twin Cities. We're both tired of not living together. I miss my husband, my dog and my stuff. I know its just stuff and I shouldn't miss it, but I do. I miss being able to cook and knowing that my bowl that I use for this is just as available as the knife I use for that or the pan I use for the other thing.

This past Sunday our pastor taught about the Israelites and their time of wandering for 40 years. God, please don't let my wandering stretch that long. Anywho, Pastor Andy read the passage from Numbers 11 where the Israelites began to complain about only having manna, manna and more manna to eat. They began to grumble about all the luxuries they had in Egypt with an "if only we had stayed in Egypt our live would be so great" approach toward the exodus. I had always read that passage (and the other passages where the Israelites complain about the very same God who they just saw perform something unbelievably amazing like the Red Sea parting) and thought "How dumb must those Israelites have been?" I typically would read those passages with arrogance that I would never be as stiff-necked as those lousy Israelites were. Right. Uh, didn't I just catch myself complaining about this or that...in light of God's abundant provision for me? I have a comfy bed, plenty to eat, lots of clothes to wear, a husband, family and friends who love and care for me, a job that pays my bills....and I have the audacity to complain that God's timing in my circumstances leaves something to be desired? That God isn't doing for me what I think He ought to? That all I have to eat is manna, manna and more manna and where the heck is my cheeseburger?

The pastor made a great point that the Israelite wandering was a physical, tangible event in history as they literally wandered in the desert while waiting to enter the Promised Land. But, he said, we too are in a period of wandering. Our "promised land" is Heaven, and earth just doesn't quite match up to what we know is waiting for us. We try and try to make earth more Heaven-like, but it will never work. We are surrounded by sin, greed, corruption, dishonesty, disharmony...and that's just in the Church. All around we are faced with evidence that Heaven-on-earth is impossible for us to achieve with human hands. It should be no surprise when bad things happen in this world. Instead, I should be all the more thankful when blessings come my way, because I certainly don't deserve them. So, in this period of wandering that feels so long to my human little mind, I will praise God for being sovereign and choosing something far better for me than I know to choose for myself. And I will wait for Him to deliver it.

Hmmmmmm?

I have a long list of questions I hope to ask the Lord someday. I'm sure I won't immediately start grilling him when I arrive at the "Pearly Gates". But, we have an eternity together right? So I'm sure at some point I'll have a chance to ask my questions. Some of the questions are:

• Eve? What was she thinking?
• How did creation really happen? Was it seven literal days or seven time periods?
  
• What about the dinosaurs? When were they really here and what really happened to them?
• The Universe -- was that made just for our pleasure? Or was it meant to confound us and keep us guessing?
• Do dogs (animals in general, actually) have souls? Because I swear Truman knows when he is doing the wrong thing and he sometimes seems to choose to misbehave anyway.
• Mosquitos, ticks, chiggers, sand fleas, regular fleas....their purpose is what exactly?
• What is the appendix really supposed to do? Same question for tonsils.
  
• Was chocolate God's special gift to us?
• Why do women who should never have babies get pregnant so easily (and often repeatedly) when there are so many amazing women who would be amazing mom's that struggle with fertility?
• Revelation. Did God mean us to focus so heavily on preparing for "end times" when men and women are missing the point of God's love in the whole rest of Scripture?
• What would things have looked like on Earth in 2009 if Eve hadn't taken that bite?
  

Another year older, another year wiser?

August 27 is my (Tina) birthday. Always has been. Not if you ask my family members, particularly any family member who has ever compiled a family history or family geneology tree. Even my mother got my birthday wrong on the family geneology list she compiled one year. My birthday has been August 6, August 12 and August 17 or 19. Perhaps the confusion comes from the fact that according to the doctors, I was supposed to be born on August 8. I was 19 days late. Seeing that I was born at 7 pounds and a handful of ounces, I was probably right on time. Instead of accusing the doctor of being wrong, I'll continue to claim I was 19 days late. So here we are a "few" years after that fateful day back in the 1970's and I'm celebrating another birthday. Another year older. Supposedly, another year wiser. Shouldn't I feel wiser? There are a few things I have learned so far in life that might count as wisdom. I will include them here for the benefit of those young whipper-snappers who haven't made it as far in life as me.

• Glue eating is not a habit that wins long-term (or even short-term) approval from others.
• Accepting some dares is really, really not worth it.
• The people we strive to be friends with when we are young are not the friends we usually end up keeping for a lifetime. The "popular" kids were mostly just popular for outward appearance. The kids with a more attractive inward appearance were hands-down the better friends to have. I wish I had learned that lesson sooner.
• Typing class is one of the greatest classes to pay attention to in junior high or high school. I have never personally needed to know the order of the presidents and their VP's, but learning how to type has gotten me far in life.
• Parallel parking is truly a life skill.
• Ignorance is bliss when it comes to food, but not with politics.
• A great boss can make a terrible job bearable. A terrible boss can make even the most amazing job unbearable.

A few things I still haven't learned that maybe I'll figure out before my next birthday:

• What do I want to be when I grow up?
• How do I vote my conscious when all the candidates are "politicians"?
• How do I raise my future kids to be Christians who truly reflect Christ?
• How do I live in this world without constantly craving all the things I see around me -- the expensive house, the great car, the amazing vacations, new clothes, etc.
• What do I need to do to be the kind of person who consistently blesses, encourages, exhorts and generously gives to my friends and family members?
• What do I need to do in the coming year to be more pleasing to God than to the world around me?

Too many questions makes my brain hurt. A hurting brain is no way to celebrate my birthday, so I will tackle these questions on a non-birthday kind of day.

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me...

Today a special delivery was made to my office, a lovely arrangement of Gerber daisies in various colors. Joe was celebrating the fact that his Youthworks! summer will be ending in a few short days and he would be returning home to his awaiting bride. He knows Gerber daisies are my favorite, the happiest of all the flowers in my opinion. His gift was thoughtful -- a much needed reminder of his love and affection after a too-long summer of him being far from home. It was one of the many ways he shows me his love through both word and deed.

I don't need the old "he loves me, he loves me not" test of daisies, because I already know Joe loves me without a shadow of a doubt. He loves me when he speaks tender words in my ear at bedtime and when he prays for me. He loves me when he does the dishes so that I don't have to do my least favorite chore. He loves me when he irons my pants when I'm in danger of running late for work and when he makes a special trip to the one grocery store in town that carries my favorite ice cream. He loves me when he mails me love notes because he knows I love getting "real" mail. He loves me when he wipes away my tears, when he laughs at my silly jokes, when he makes yum sounds at my cooking, and when he compliments me in front of his friends. He loves me and I don't ever have to worry about which petal will be the last one on the daisy.