Our first marriage "secret of success": The phrase "You're Right!"

So one of the things I've noticed in our nearly 4 months of marriage, is how many discussions of different view points on minor things do not evolve into arguments simply with the phrase "you're right."

Neither Jon nor I are very opinionated people, however when it comes to little insignificant things I have discovered  human nature just wants to hold on to its point of view, for not particular reason other than it is "mine" and I want to "be right"! The simple phrase "you're right" comes in handy in marriage when discussing how-to's, such as the "best" way to clean a pot (when both methods work), different directions that function equally well for different reasons, how to schedule things (like when to leave for an event) and mostly just different ways for managing life that aren't significant in themselves, however could grow into heated discussions of self-importance if not tempered with some good-natured submission.

I have found when a rising "mine" nag comes up, and I want to convince Jon that I  am "right" (for whatever reason), simply stopping to say "yes, honey, you're right" stops the nag into turning into something awful and hurtful. I'm not lying, because he is indeed right, and then I simply give up my right to defend my own "being right" in an insigifnicant discussion. It's very freeing I find, and I'm pretty certain he'd say the same. [I asked him, he would].

It's been a wonderful little tool that I hope to keep using as the years go on - and seeing how often Jon is truely and legitimately right on so many different things, I'm certain I'll have many opportunities! (this post itself was inspired by using the phrase about 4 different times tonight alone!)

Family & Groceries

Alas, loyal readership (as I am discovering some of you are!), I did not blog yesterday. This was partly due to the fact that we spent a long time with "Smith" family, so in someways I felt that I had already communicated a bit more of my life. My apologies to all who were not with us yesterday! In short, the day was spent with our lovely church friends who had us over for soup on a wintery afternoon. We then headed to Naptown for some DELICIOUS lamp dinner made by my sister and supplemented by my aunt. It was delicious! I'll have to post the recipe some time. And we got to hang out with our niece and nephew, which was delightful. We love them so much. So, a beautiful day of being fed by lovely people.

Speaking of being fed - anyone have advice on how to save on groceries? Jon and I have been keeping a fastidious budget these past 2 months, and are shocked by how much food we consume now that we have a solid "meal" every night (my bachelorette days were filled with  cheese and cracker dinners)  and Jon eats lunch every day (wasn't possible at his last job). We aren't buying anything extravagant, just the basics, yet still seem to be spending many more bucks than we anticipate! Our strategy this month is to do weekly  sprints to the store, rather than large stock-ups (we'd go about twice a month and fill up then); hopefully this will help us stick to the list! I will keep you up-to-date!

Highlight of today: Church-meeting where we got to learn alot about our church and it's on-goings, plus talking with Jerdan parents!

Lowlight of today: tomorrow is Monday - need I say more?

Thank-you cards

Today was another restful day for me at home. I continued cleaning the office (which reminds me, I need to tell you that story tomorrow), and in the afternoon began tackling the thank-you cards. The address and return address labels are printed, the cards have come in, and so the writing commences. I figure if I do at least 10 a day I will have them done and sent out by the end of February.

I love writing thank-you cards. My main love language is words of encouragement, so writing and receiving thank-you cards is enjoyable for me. Now writing 150+ thank-you cards in one go would be challenging, but pacing myself (and Jon) over the next few days is pretty doable!

Highlight of the day: Resting and being at home, cleaning projects also getting done.
Lowlight of the day: Still feeling tired and restless from the long commute, and probably just from running around the house!

self-imposed snow day

Today I stayed home, as the roads still weren't really clear and I was quite shaken up from yesterday. I'm glad I did. I was able to get alot of housework completed, in addition to getting the office organized (which will have to be a story for tomorrow).

The stories emerging are very interesting - a 7hour commute home is fairly normal, while many had up to 13 hours home. I'm very grateful for God's protection! Even in little ways - like a full gas tank, a day where I drank very little water, so bladder issues weren't in the fore-front of my mind, and a cell phone that never lost reception and had power the whole drive home! Jon would call every half hour or so, and that kept me very very sane. So all in all, all is well. We have power, so feel very blessed just in that aspect.

For giggles, here are some pictures of around our apartment!

This is the view outside our back window. Quite picturesque actually!



And here is Jon's car covered in snow! He VERY KINDLY shoveled out a spot for me to come home too! He also inadvertently shoveled another spot out as well, and it turns out a mom with a few kids, who had also been in the car for 7+ hours, turned up a few minutes later, very grateful for the spot! God works in interesting ways....


One of my favorite views, Jon, hard at work, who gracefully put up with my chatter all day :o)
That's all! Thanks for reading!

Worst Commute

Today my commute home - which should have been about 30-40 minutes - was 7 hours. This is a very very long time.

Why? The snow came down at 3:30, which is when I (and many many others) left work. The plows couldn't get to the roads. Yet we still needed to drive them.

I had several thoughts along the way which are blogable, but I'll have to wait until the inner jitters jitter their way out - I think stressful situations are like that sometimes: One can't feel truly nervous or anxious during a scary situation, as that makes things worse, but once one is safe, all the feelings kinda let out.

So i'm going to go rest now!

Avery Labels

First, I absolutely must applaud Jon's story. Last night I was particularly tired, for not particular reason, and didn't have the umption to blog. Jon valiantly volunteered for the job - and I definitely wasn't expecting that beautiful reflection on love and God's care of us. Hurrah for marriage!

My most exciting thing from today is the discovery of online avery templates. Kinda sad, but true! I decided to print out our return address labels for our arriving thank-you notes that we are hoping to have sent out by the end of February at the latest. We had the labels, and I was beginning to figure out labels on Microsoft Word when I saw the advertisement on the packaging for online labels. Entrigued, I visited the site, and must commend them on usability - it's easy to use! Fairly soon (well, after changing my mind a few times), I was able to easily print out our labels with a nice little graphic on them, which would have been hard on my own. Best of all, it's free, which is brilliant.

So, for all your label printing needs - check out online avery. And there's my plug! We'll see how the address labels go....

The tale of young Captain Kidd

Back in the days when Kidd was young and did not have a penny to his name, he often sneaked his way toward the big blue door. Some light would seep through an old, thick pane of glass in the middle of the door. Young Kidd did wonder what was out there, on the other side of the big blue door, which always slammed closed too quickly when he tried to make a sneaky escape. Although his size was quite imposing, and his agility could easily be rivaled with. But one day, some workers kept going in and out through this doorway, and Kidd suddenly saw an opportunity and made a run for it! He was out! No one noticed it, he could run free!

-- Historical accounts representing Kidd's side of what happened in the next two days have remained on the hazier side of things to this day. --

During the third day, he was spotted. After Kidd had worked his way into the garden of a stranger's home, the matron of the domain noticed him squatting in the corner outside. The lady approached. Reassuringly, she came to him. As she held him, she saw, written on the pendant he carried around his neck, the key to what she would do with poor, young Kidd. Following instructions that had been written long before, she sent message to his home...

It was only about 1/2 a kilometer away; Kidd's master and the father wasted no time to get to her house. We quickly brought him back home and closed the door. And Kidd swallowed a bowl of food. And Kidd rested. He was exhausted. He was hungry. He barely moved for the next couple days. He finally knew he was safe.

Kidd was a pretty dumb cat. But he was my cat, and I loved him. He wasn't always kind to the people at home. He didn't understand why he wouldn't have his way. He certainly could not fend for himself. We were surprised he actually survived getting across the streets of Pérols he evidently crossed. I always took care of him, fed him, cleaned up after him, played with him, petted him, scratched his head... And Kidd kept wanting to run out into the dangerous world, of which he knew nothing. At home, Kidd would occasionally bite or claw us.

Just like we so easily do. We have a God who loves us, provides for us, takes care of us, gives us minds to think, resources to enjoy, responsibilities to grow with, and boundaries to protect us. God loves us more and watches out for us better than I did for Kidd. And we think we'll be happier if we can go past those boundaries. Sometimes we do go do our own thing. And the world hurts us. It may get close to destroying us. So we get back into the fold of God, and then we feel safe. We realize our error and repent. But how long does that last? A few days go by, and the "door" opens up again... What happens next?
If you have a pet, let it reveal you to yourself. Is its behavior a reflection in some ways of your relationship to your master? Maybe an exaggeration of some aspects of it? Next time your animal misbehaves, it rejects your authority, or it thinks it knows better than you what's best, take a look at your life and see if you need to walk back in through the big blue door as well to where the loving God keeps you safe and well-fed.

This story was inspired by what someone at church said this past Sunday, seeing a picture of faith in the behavior of his cat.

Sweet Fellowship

Today was church at RPC. It was with some hesitancy that I agreed to keep going there. Moving to Northern Virginia, I was hoping to find - in short- a "cool" church; one that was liturgical, yet modern, or with a strong social justice mission married to concrete theology. The church we settled on doesn't quite fit in any of those categories. It is a Presbyterian church, about 150 members, that is honest and real in it's teaching, old-school in it's music selections, and with the normal array of middle-schoolers sitting in the back, children crying during the service, and older people who are still very much in love. And we feel normal and welcome there, which is good.

We also are getting plugged in very very quickly with good friends. We are meeting people through-out the church and I feel like we are forming a true community of people who can laugh and play together, while also being honest with struggles, doubts, and disagreements. Today we met with a few other people who are branching out the young-adults group, as it is getting larger. Afterwords we ended up hanging out and watching a football game with a glass of wine. It was tremendously refreshing and I'm glad for it.

It's interesting to begin to find what you are looking for in a place where you least expect to find it, and I'm glad for our normal church.

Saturday :o)

Today was yet another lovely Saturday. Saturdays, in general, are lovely because we get to spend the whole day together. Today we went and got a picture framed and then went and bought groceries at Target. Tonight we watched "sam i am," which wasn't all that bad.

So many simple chores are made much more wonderful, simply because we do them together.

Additionally, I began to get our office semi-organized, and that is a good, good feeling. A functional space is a happy space.

Friday Night

Well, it is the end of a week. Unfortunately this means there is little coherent to blog about.

Tonight we watched "Burn After Reading" which looked good in the previews. It is actually a horrendous movie, and we don't recommend watching it. Then we watched two episodes of "Arrested Development" which is still quite funny.

Tomorrow we have no plans, which we are quite content with - well other than the errands to run, etc.

marriage rocks

So one of the many great things about Jon is that he cooks :o) To help with the housework load, he cooks supper on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which gives me two days a week to relax about housework. It's wonderful.

As today is Thursday, it was a relaxing day :o)

That's it for tonight!

Mail merging

So tonight's success is not incredibly interesting to write about, however I'm tremendously excited.

I discovered how to use the addresses we had put into Excel to automatically format into address labels via mail merge. This means (((drum roll))) we do not have to hand-write every address! Or re-type them all out into a word document to print out onto labels! We can keep them all nicely organize in excel, and print them out as needed! Any other librarians/information managers out there as excited as I am?! (yah, I thought not :o) )

This will also be helpful for the years to come, when we need to send out lots of mail to lots of family, whenever that time may be. So now all that is left is to order the thank-you cards, write them out, and the addresses will be on their way! (I do need to remember to print our return address labels as well...)

And that is the small success of the evening, in addition to the meal I was able to make (bratwurst, sweet potato fries, and soup), without burning or undercooking anything. Good, good evening.

Book excerpt that I really enjoy!

As a wedding present, I received the book "Don'ts for Husbands, Don'ts for Wives" written by Blanche Ebbutt in 1913. While some of the bits of wisdoms it has are outdated, other's are still quite true. I enjoyed this passage I was reading the other day, in the husband's section:

"Don't be unsympathetic if you wife's worries seem to you to be trivial. You haven't tried to run a house with tiresome servants and ailing children, and you don't realise what a strain it is at times, and how molehills become mountains, because there are so many of them piled on to each other. You can soon sweep all trouble away with a little kindly sympathy, or you can make it worse by refusing to see that there is any trouble" (pg. 44)

Now servants nor children I have never had (and servants most likely never!) , but in the establishment of our new home, I've noticed how molehills become mountains, simply because they keep piling on top of each other, and I didn't take the trouble to stop them out in the first place! I'm blessed by a husband who is liberal with kindly sympathy and helps me with molehill stomping. That said, I'm learning a bit more proactiveness on my side can do a great deal of good in the long run, i.e. do the dishes now, not tomorrow; tidy up the budget now, and not before you wonder how much is in the bank; bring the trash in from the car now, not later - and all that good stuff.

Surprisingly - it's not too hard! A bit more inconvenient, but over all, makes for a very pleasant home. Speaking of which - time to go to bed!

Monday Holiday

Today, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, I had the day off. The morning was spent getting a few things done while Jon worked, and then the afternoon we spent at Manassas battlefield. Although chilly, it was relaxing to walk around the field on the trails, learning about the battle as we went. We learned the first battle of the civil war took place there. In fact, so many people thought it would be the beginning and end of the war, many came down from DC to watch the battle take place, almost like a show. At the time, no one really knew the brutalities of war - it was always glorified in the stories. At the end of the day they did. 1 out of every 3 men lost their lives there, and 600,000 more would in the 4 ensuing years. It was somehow fitting to spend this day where the war to end slavery (from the Union's perspective anyhow) began. And good to meditate on the hard lessons of the past, even those that are 150 years old. The rest of the time we spent walking through the woods and watching the deer (we saw about 12) watching us!

We also realized how nice it was to simply get out of the house and go on a date. I think this was our first "outing" being married that didn't involve an errand, family, friends, or the holidays. It was very very nice and I can see what married dates come so highly recommended!

The Problem with black-out curtains....

Today has been a wonderful Sunday. Fully relaxing, with one very important lesson, with some noteworthy consequences. I will illustrate with some simple logic:

Sunlight naturally tells the body to wake up.
Black-out curtains block out the sunlight.

THEREFORE:

The body is not naturally going to wake up due to sunlight when black-out curtains are on the windows.

Yes folks, part of the reason we are so rested today is indeed because we are over-slept, and are happier for it. This morning we both had a hard time pulling ourselves out of bed for church; in our room it looked like 2am, when in fact it was 9:30am. When we pulled back the curtains, this became abundantly clear. And we made it to church "just" on time.

This afternoon, watching a little bit of the "The Gospel of John," we decided to take a quick nap. Due to a "malfunction" of the alarm clock (aka. Sara shut it off in her sleep), our nap went much longer than intended. So now it is 10:30 at night, and we feel like it's closer to 7pm.

Lesson learned: When the alarm clock goes off, shut it off, get out of bed, and pull back the curtains. We will be better off for it.

Tomorrow will be yet another well-rested day.

Successful Saturdays!!!

Today was a grand day in the finishing of the Jerdan apartment! Let me tell the story:

A few months back we received a "welcome to the neighborhood" coupon from Bed, Bath, & Beyond (affectionately called "B3"). It was 20% off the entire purchase!!! For newlyweds, who had their registry at B3 to finish off, this is a tremendous opportunity. The coupon expired in February, however I knew that if we weren't careful, we could very nearly forget about it and pass the date by, so I was a bit anxious to get underway to B3. That said, we left it on our fridge for awhile until we identified everything we absolutely needed, not just coveted, from the store. And once we had some free time, we could finish our list at 20% off!

Today was the day! We carefully looked at the list of things we needed: a rug for the hall to keep the carpet from wearing to thin, a pot for soup, black-out curtains for our bed-room (as our window faces the parking lot, there's an oraganeish glow at night), a toaster, a blender, cutting boards and a few more dish-sets, but only if we had remaining cash. We tallyed our remaining cash gifts, gift cards, and credit from returned items, and came up with our budget. And remembering ALL of these numbers and lists (hard for iNtuitive Perceivers), we set off for an afternoon of shopping.

Entering B3, we began - first to kitchen utensils to figure out cutting boards, then to pots and pans to figure out the best value for the best pot. Despite a good deal for spending $300 dollars on Caphalon, we settled on a good soup kettle with steaming features and kept going. Then on to kitchen appliances, and then to curtains, where we found the most helpful lady who helped us identify curtains within our budget. We landed on a pair of blue/grey drapes which had lining sewed in the back that obscures 98% of the light (better savings than the black-out curtain with drapes!). After a bit of effort we found the rugs, and identified one that worked for our hall on clearance! Then, after adding all our totals on our calculators, we realized we had enough left to buy 3 more dish sets, allowing us to set our entire table with the new plates, glasses, and silverware. Fairly confident in our calculations and decisions, we headed to check out.

There, I was anticipating being over-budget, which happens more often than not for me, despite careful calculations and thought. However, we weren't! We actually came in near $50 UNDER budget after 30 dollars was knocked off the rug for some reason.

Euphoric and delighted, we headed to the car, packed it up, then drove to 5 Guys to spend some of our extra cash on some good meat (Jon definitely needed a man-meal after shopping for the home) and a night of no cooking and no dishes. It was a fabulous Saturday. Most of the new items are settled in, and I can't express how much more "at home" I feel without the constant reminders of what needs to be bought for the home to be at a good, functional level (at least in my mind!). The room looks absolutely elegant with the new curtains, I'm happy to not walk down the hall thinking "We should get a rug in here" and I can't wait to make some soup :o)

Other highlights: Talking to the brand new Smiths! It's so much fun to talk to a couple so newly married and in-love like us (actually this was the actual highlight of the day, but makes a less interesting story unless we typed out the transcript of the conversation)! & watching "Guess who's coming to dinner" with Jon, who had never seen it. Yay newly married life.

Neti Pots

So in my continual all-out attack on this cold, I tried the neti pot at my sister's recommendation. I'm desperate. If you do not know what a neti-pot it, it is basically a small pot that looks like a tea kettle, or a genie's lamp. You fill that with water and a saline solution, place your head above the sink, stick one end of the pot in a nostril, tilt your head, and let the water flow through your nose and out the other nostril. Odd.

But it WORKS. I'm still not cured, however I think this will definitely help clean out the nasties that insist on staying.

In other news, tonight we watched "Kite Runner" together. While not easy to watch, I'd recommend it to those interested in other cultures.

Tomorrow our plan is to buy final items off our registry that we need with a 20% off coupon we got in the mail for Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Looking forward to it!

the cold strikes back

Tonight my cold - which I thought was gone - made a run for my head, where I believe it will take up a brief residence and then go. away. far far away. I still need to find a netty pot. That would probably help.

In the meantime, Jon made dinner and it was delicious. Kilbasa, vegetables, and pasta, which was flavored with yumminess. We are working our way through Arrested Development, and that is filled with good laughs.

The interesting thing about this blog, is it's definitely revealing the need for me to read again. My own thoughts are amusing, but I'm not quite convinced they are interesting yet. This will be better once I get healthy.

Wednesday

Today is Wednesday and, being the middle of the week, tremendously hard to put thoughts together! The energy of beginning the week has waned, and the anticipation of the weekend has not yet begun. So here are some thoughts:

The pulled pork went well! I need to improve it, but pork shoulder, marinated in vinegar and water for 12+ hours, then cooked on high for another 8 hours with seasoning, is a good cheap meat that will make good leftovers.

We are exploring more of Groupon, which is fun. Want to learn more and sign up? Click:
http://www.groupon.com/r/uu11184118

You can find good deals in your local area (and sometimes beyond) for WAY cheap. Plus if you click the link above and sign up, we get $20 in Groupon credit :o) Yahoo!

A post to stay dedicated

Tonight I came home, and Jon had done the laundry. Then he made dinner. And then did most of the dishes.

Truly I am living a blessed life.

In the meantime, we are watching "Arrested Development" most every night, an episode or 3. I hadn't wanted this in awhile, and it's quite funny for the adult. Jon has not watched it, so it's fun to see his reactions.

I know we won't always have all this leisurely time to make dinner, clean-up, watch a show, and then go to bed. At some point it may be taken up by kids or hobbies. But for now it is nice, and I am really enjoying it.

Sharing

So tonight it appears that dear Jon may have caught what I had! Oh the travails of the married life. (there actually aren't that many...)

Hopefully some honey tea (honey, lavender, and thyme), rest, and chocolate (mostly to assauge the wife) will put him to rights. It is a bit distressing for the new bride to see her gallant husband fall ill to the common cold, however this too will pass and we will once again be put back upon our feet.

In other news: I'm trying a pork-shoulder recipe which requires soaking the pork for 12 hours in water in vinegar, and then another 10-12 hours in the slow cooker. It's a cheap meat, so I'm hoping this works!

Movie: World Fastest indian

Yay for Sundays! Jon's parents came for a short delightful visit, and then headed back this evening. Thereafter Jon and I kicked back and watched a movie. Both of us were in an easy going mood, went to the Netflix queue, and picked "The World's Fastest Indian." Starring Anthony Hopkins, it tells the true story of a 67 year old man from New Zealand, who has always dreamed of trying his motorcycle on the salt plains of Utah, at a yearly major speed event held there. He is already a featured motorcyclist in New Zealand, who works out of his shed - which he also lives in - and lives off his pension checks.

The story shows his home town of New Zealand, his trip to the United States, his trip from Los Angeles to Utah (and all the characters he meets on the way), and the final speed event.

It was a great date night movie - the type of moving that neither person has to convince the other to watch! It has relationships, which appeals to women, but none that are gushy, which saves the men-folk from yawning. And the last bit has some great speed scenes, which I think strikes a chord with the men-folk, but at that point I was so wrapped up in the meaning of it all I didn't mind! It is also 90% family friendly (two wake-up in bed scenes, with nothing shown before, and a friendly cross-dresser in another scene), so maybe even worth watching with teen-aged loved ones.

So when we land upon a good date movie, we'll post it here. A few other favorites:
Princess Bride
Evan Almighty
Date Night
Invictus
The Lives of Others (German film!)

So, kudos to my spouse for updating last night! Jerdan 365 continues.

Today the cold seems to be retreating, not without some final rallying cries. After nearly 10 hours of sleep last night, a bottle of nyquill (not all in one night, but over the stretch of the cold), numerous cups of honey and hotwater, and my dear husband following me around the house with my tissue box, I have high hopes I'll be cough-and-snot free in the near future.

Today was a hallmark day in the Jerdan household. Jon's Marseilles scarf came in!

For those who do not know, Jon's favorite soccer team is Marseilles, one of his France hometowns. For those of us who are thoroughly american, one might think "You can have a favorite soccer team, outside of your high school?" Oh yes, over in Europe, it is akin to having a favorite football, baseketball or any major team here. So, it's kinda big deal.

I ordered this scarf on December 14th, thinking it would be in here time for Christmas. Alas, the poor man only received a picture of it in his stocking, but was still remarkably excited regardless! We've been heading to the post-box with much anticipation since then, and our hopes continued to build with each passing day. The past few days have been particularly disappointing, and when Jon went to get the mail today, my hope for the arrival of the scarf had turned into wishful thinking.

But behold! It is here! Jon with the scarf on, all professionally proud in his office:




Here his inner child is ablaze:

Indeed, he is very excited, and our Christmas joy is almost complete! Today his parents are coming in for a visit, and that shall be very nice as well.

So we are waiting for them to come, the house is clean, and I'm finding myself with remarkably little to do! (well, that won't create a mess of some kind). Yay for relaxing....

Geeky post of the week

Jonathan here tonight.
So, in case you don't know, I love games like kenken and sudoku. They're good for the brain. If you don't know what kenken is, check out kenken.com. When I discovered that site, all my free time was spent on it for a week.
Last weekend, I was watching Jimmy play sudoku on his iPhone. So I figured I need to get a free sudoku app on my phone. And I found a new strategy that seems to be speeding up my game!
I used to start by going through the numbers 1-9 and check where each number could be in each of the 9 big squares, then I'd maybe go row by row or column by column and see how much of each row/column I could fill.
Well that sometimes took a while.
So now, unless I can quickly spot where some of the digits go, I first look for the squares, rows or columns that are the most complete. Usually there are some that are only missing 2 or 3 digits, so I start with those. In the hardest setting, there may only be a few that have no less than four empty spots; it that case it doesn't go quite as quickly. But this certainly gets the game going faster than previously. Most games take no more than about 10 minutes.

If this is how you already played or if you have an even better tactic, I'm sorry this post has been of no use to you. At least it wasn't very long...

Cold, allergies, who knows

Today I am officially under the weather. This determined by the frequency of coughs (often) and lack of energy (also often). It is also at the funky middle stage, where I'm not quite incapacitated, but not quite full force. This is frustrating to me.

One thing that is frustrating is my inability to put a few words together to finish this post. I will count the fact that I'm even posted, shout "huzzah", and continue on with my evening.

Yay 365. just 362 more days. this will be good. very good.

Passion

Today I woke up feeling not-so-right, so I called in sick to work and spent the rest of the day trying to relax (any other women out there who feel it's hard to relax at home when there's so many cool projects to complete?) I finally succeeded and succumbed to a documentary on Netflix entitled "Ballerina" It's the story of 5 Ballerina's in the premiere Russia ballet, the Kirov (just learned that today too!) It shows the school where they begin study around the age of 10, and up through their careers.

It was fascinating. The documentary, by it's sheer subject, is aesthetically breath taking. What I didn't know, however, is the sacrifice it takes these dancers to perfect their art. While they all have a deep amount of natural talent, their art is perfected through daily hard and grueling work. The devotion and dedication is shocking. In their interviews few displayed the "prima ballerina" attitude I was expecting, more so a deep devotion to perfection in their dances and passion in performing. They all said there were days they didn't like it, but they still kept going. It's inspiring.

Tonight I listened to a podcast by my good friends Kate and Jon Peters. They are doctors (or student-doctors, I loose track the system is so complicated), and returning to Haiti to serve for a month or so. This is their 3rd return trip to the area after the earthquake. While it's hard work, in hard conditions, they have a deep love for the people and commitment to serving the least-of these. This, significantly more than the ballerina's, is deeply inspiring.

So today I've been pondering passion and it's place in our lives and our futures. We are both passionate about the Lord, each other, and anything international. [Jon's response to "What are we passionate about?" - languages, God, kayaks, you, soccer, countries, traveling.]. And I think we are still waiting on God's time to find the bulls eye of our life-passion - where exactly we'll live, serve, work, and so forth. It's an interesting journey- and the stories today reminded me to keep enjoying it.

"If we don't change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we are going" - Chinese Proverb.

Josh and Jess's Wedding Vows

Today I was ruminating on the new Smith's Marriage Poem, which was also their vows:

"Love her, unconditioned.
Love him, absolutely.

Serve her, joyfully.
Serve him, selflessly.

Forgive her, quickly.
Forgive him, always.

Reveal her Christ.
Unveil him Christ."

- Joshua and Jessica Smith

It is a beautiful poem, and certainly brilliant to watch them say it together. I look forward to hearing their story of how they wrote it together.

The last stanza has been rolling around in my head today "Reveal her Christ. Unveil him Christ." I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps it is because I see Christ revealed through my husband so much - through his selfless love for me, tender caring, pursuit of the Lord through reading and prayer, and how often he puts my needs above his. It's wonderful and I feel that I'm knowing God better through Jon and with Jon.

The word "unveil" for the woman's role is unique too. I'm curious if Jon feels the same way. (I asked him, he's sitting right here). He says I do, by encouraging and guiding towards good decisions (like working on the budget, not easy for to iNtuitives). How wonderful.

And I think it is a neat reflection on how men and women are equal, but not necessarily the same. How Christ is shown through us to each other is different and how we respond to that is different, yet still Christ himself is the same. Hm.

Beginning of our own 365 blog

I have been inspired by Stacy Richardson's 365 Blog over the past year, and her passion for catching part of her daily life every day through photography is infectious. I thought "I should do something like that!" - however the office job and lack of cute kids would make such a photography blog rather redundant. I have, however, over the years had quite the penchant for writing. In the tumult of life post-college, I have never quite felt settled enough to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard as it now should be. I went on to pursue some funny jobs, two masters degrees, and then blissfully fell in love and the wonderful man married me. And I'm beginning to feel settled.

So now is a good time to pick up some solid brainy discipline again and begin to capture the bright thoughts or happenings of the day.

Here is my thoughts from today:
"We ought not to grow tired of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed" - Brother Lawrence

I'm finding married life has no end of little things to do, particularly in the kitchen and cleaning up around the house. Realizing that the little things in my life will take up the most time in my tenure here on earth, I'm thinking contemplating the greatness of love in doing the dishes, for keeping things in good order, and enjoying the never ending errands will be a better idea than trying to rush through them to get to greater and grander things - only to realize I missed the whole point all along. Neat to serve a God who is so grand in the greatest thing, and so tremendously small in the little things. Time to find Him there.