Snow Day with Berkley!

I didn't expect to hear the phone ring at 5:45 am this morning telling me school was canceled. I thought, "That's ridiculous....Texans," as I rolled over and turned off the alarm. I should have peeked outside the window first. I can't remember the last time we had this much snow in Texas! I bundled up and took Berk out to play at the park. Literally, here's how I did it: undergarments, a thin pair of socks, leggings over the socks, long janes over the leggings, then a thick pair of socks over the long janes. Then I pried my jeans on over all the layers, waddled across the house into my rain boots, then put on a long sleeve shirt, a fleece, and my winter coat. I topped it all off with a fleece hat and gloves. (I've been home for hours and I'm still wearing most of it... ;) Berkley and I had the time of our lives! He is such a sweet dog, and has been such a blessing to Andy and I. We love you Berkley!

Not happy about having to wear his Halti...

Halti is off = happy dog!

Yum- this tastes like ice cube treats!

This first video is of us reaching the park. After a 1/2 mile walk at what Berkley would consider a too-slow-pace, he was released from the leash. Here's his reaction to freedom with the snow!

After 30 minutes of running, running, and more running, we headed to the playground area. Usually when we come, we try to get Berkley to go down the slide. This time he was all too eager! He did this over and over and over again. One time he went so fast he lost his balance, and went down sideways, landing in the snow on his back. It was hilarious! Wish I could have caught it on tape...

The Brothers Karamazov

I realized that I forgot to mention that I finished The Brothers Karamazov! Just after New Years, about six months after I started it, I finished this excellent book. I first decided I wanted to read it about eight years ago after finding it on John Piper's list of "Top 50 Books You Need to Read Before You Die." It's my second book of Fyodor Dostoevsky's to read (the first was Crime and Punishment, which took me two years to complete). It's the story of three very different brothers who share a miserable excuse of a father. The oldest brother, Dmitri, is erratic, highly emotional, and impulsive. The second brother, Ivan, is a complete intellectual. The youngest, Alexey, is mild, starkly honest, and very spiritual. They represent three parts of the human being: emotion, reason, and faith. The story follows the murder of their father, and the ongoing effects of it on the three sons. It includes what many consider the best argument against the existence of God- ironic because Dostoevsky writes as a Christian saved by the blood of God himself.



Dostoevsky's books are hard to read, but they are worth it. He writes deep characters with an understanding of human nature and desire that I haven't read anywhere else. After my time in Crime and Punishment, I decided to make a character tree with each character's name and a phrase describing who they are. I did this before I started reading (my edition had a list of characters and descriptions.) It was absolutely worth the time! I found myself referring to it often. I would encourage you to do the same if you'll give the book a go- you will be glad you did!

Lessons Learned

I've been reflecting today on time and its affect on me. I love being productive and efficient most of the time, but there's a wonderful kind of rest in having my mind on one track. I found myself praying today while blowdrying my hair and unpacking my bag upon returning from our Christmas vacation. I love that I can talk to the Lord at any moment, but when I'm multitasking it into my day because I feel a desperate need to be with Him, but can't seem to find a spot in my schedule, something's gone wrong. I'm not usually the type to be perpetually busy, but I overbooked myself this Christmas, and I've suffered for it.

A few months ago, Matt preached on prayer. It was a mixture of sweet wooing and gut wrenching pain. Following that, he preached about the Sabbath. Those two messages combined altered my outlook, my schedule, my life. (Click here to listen to "The Art of Prayer" and "Sabbath") I am utterly changed. I immediately put into practice what I had learned and found joy unlike I'd ever experienced. Then, with the onset of Matt's cancer, I found myself constantly coming to the Lord in prayer. I would pray on my drive to work, during lunch, on my way home, and a dozen times in between. After a week, I was struck with the realization that this was how it was meant to be. This is how I ought to always have prayed. It's like it finally clicked in my mind. As my Christmas break came, I found myself out of schedule. I forgot the Sabbath, I had little time alone, and thus, didn't pray.

Guilt is the first emotion that would normally have taken over, forcing me to bow my head and speak to myself aloud until I was satisfied that I had done my best. Guilt didn't come- in it's place was longing. I felt a longing today to be in the presence of the Lord that was so strong, I immediately went to Him. Yes, I was blowdrying my hair. No, it wasn't ideal. But I learned a few lessons I want share with you:

1) This is evidence of a change in my heart and I thank God for accomplishing it in me. Prayer was not about checking off a list today, but about enjoying the Lord because he is my greatest pleasure.

2) God works through all things to bring us to a deeper knowledge of and trust in Him. He has used Matt's cancer to teach me how to pray, and to teach me to love prayer.

3) Time has its affect on me. I slept 8 - 9 hours a night for the last week with a weary soul. I need to schedule rest for my soul. Especially during seasons like this when we're out of town, have people visiting, presents to buy, bags to pack and unpack, etc. Your soul, not just your body, needs to rest.

On a side note. As I look to the coming year, there are many things I want to happen. I have been repeating this verse from Romans to myself: "May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." JR Vassar wrote an amazing post about the difference between hope and desire. I pray I wouldn't confuse the two. Read here to see what I mean, that you may not confuse them either.

Catching up on books...

I am still working through The Brothers Karamazov and am in the 400s, so less than half to go! I have read a few other books in the mean time, mostly things my kids have been reading. I'm going to be short with these- you're welcome. :( (grrr....)

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen: Hilarious. I loved this quick read. Business men would also enjoy it IF they could come to grips with the fact that it's a fictional comedy. Andy couldn't. It says it's around a 4th grade reading level, but the vocabulary in it could be made for high schoolers (financially speaking). Dawson- you would love this, you little saver! ;)

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan: I bought the entire series and read this book because ALL the boys in my class are reading and loving it! Percy, the main character, is edgy and misunderstood. He acts older than his age, battles anything the gods will send his way, survives a visit to hell, and has a sense of humor about it all. He's every little boy's hero. I'm not into the idea of not letting kids read things because they might be contrary to the truth of the gospel, like magic, witches, wizzards, vampires, hobbits, etc. I have no problem with kids reading that stuff because it's fiction. They read it knowing that it's fiction. It's not truth. Having said that, I was put off by some things in this book. The kids would say things like "Oh my gods," or "Thank the gods." At dinnertime, every person would set aside the best portion of their meal and offer it to their parent god. The book says something in the beginning about how these are "little g" gods and are tiny compared to "big G" God. However, big G God didn't seem to have any interest or involvement in the universe, the little g gods, or any mortals. He was completely out of the picture. So...in my mind, this one borders on the edge of healthy and unhealthy. My advice- you know your kids better than anyone. Use your best judgement. Definitely read it before you let your kids and make sure to talk through some of the issues with them.

POP!

At home group a few weeks ago, we celebrated our friend Daniel's birthday. We blew up balloons to embarrass him and after everyone left, Berkley found quite an interest in them. We decided to play around by throwing balloons up in the air. He was hilarious to watch- he couldn't wait for the balloons to come back down and would start crying in frustration. Gravity just wasn't fast enough...

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The reason I didn't have this in my "What I'm Reading" sidebar is because as soon as I got it, I had read it. My book club, the Rogue Readers (motto: "leaving no page unturned") has chosen this as our first book of the year. One thing I both love and hate about my book club: I do not have the same tastes as most of the people in the club. The great part is, I get to read things I wouldn't normally read, the bad part is that I have to read things I wouldn't normally read. (The only book I've truly disliked was No Time for Goodbye. It's your typical trade paper suspense novel- I am a completely unashamed book snob.) A love for the classics is preferred, an appreciation of them is essential!

I was very excited to read this book: the reviews were raving. The book is about a high school girl named Hannah Baker who has very recently committed suicide. Before she did, she recorded herself on audio cassette tapes. There are thirteen people/events/reasons that brought her to decide to end her life. On the cassette tapes, she gives those reasons and mails them to the thirteen people they involve. Each person listens to the tapes and passes them on to the next person. If they don't get passed on, a second set of tapes will be released publicly (in which case, the people they are about will face consequences. Some of the things that happened were illegal.)

Everyone who read this book said every middle schooler, high schooler, parent, and teacher should read this book. It would be life-changing. In sum, I had high expectations. I hate going into a book with high expectations- again, I was let down. Don't get me wrong- the book was good. But it wasn't life-changing. Not like Same Kind of Different as Me was life-changing. Most of Hannah's reasons seem small, and while they do build on each other, and in the end lead to devastating events, something was missing. Certainly the actions of others affected and influenced her in deciding to kill herself. But, there was also something inside her that was bent toward her decision. I would have liked to hear more about that.I think she was also weighed down by the guilt of some of her own actions. I wanted to know how that affected her decision. I also thought it was strange to hear so little about her parents- what a small role they played! She says in the beginning, "I know my parents love me," and then they're never mentioned again.

All that to say, I thought it was an ok book, but it seemed one sided. I was confused about why she wanted to die. As the reader, I want to feel what Hannah is feeling, and I didn't feel like suicide was an option, much less the only option. If Jay Asher had gone into some of those missing elements above, a heavier weight would have been felt and understood by the reader.

A good book, but I wanted more.

Videos from Costa Rica

My camera has a video feature, but I couldn't get any of the videos onto the computer. I've figured out what I was doing wrong, so here are some videos of our trip. I don't say anything through most of them, because I quickly discovered that I don't film and do (anything) at the same time very successfully. Talking in addition ruined most of the videos. :)

These two are of the waterfall hike, my favorite activity.

The next two videos are from the rainforest. I had one going across one of the hanging bridges, but I tried talking through it and I was completely distracted. You mostly only see the railing around me. Needless to say, it's not worth putting on here. I love this waterfall because it's like its being hammocked by the rocks.

Wouldn't you like to slide down it?

Like I said before, in each city, a church occupies the very center of the town. It's the church everyone goes to. All around the church, there is a park or garden. This is where everyone hangs out during their free time. The downtown forms a square around this park, and then the houses form along the outside of the downtown area. So the church is at the heart of the town. It's so different from here, and it was refreshing. I don't know what town we're in, but we stopped when we saw the gardens. Here's a shaky clip:

Going to a place like Costa Rica, we were surrounded by beauty everywhere. It was humbling to sit in the midst of God's creation. We watched nature and saw the hand of God. We followed a trail of leafcutters, we looked to the movement of clouds, the cut of water through rock, the web of a spider, the climbing cow at the top of a mountain, the eruption of a volcano, the colors of a macaw...all put in place by God, for God. Sinless creation. I am but a mist.

Our friends, Chad and Sarabeth, took care of Berkley. (Yes, he got to spend another week with Miss Ella and was thrilled about it.) This video is of us coming to pick him up. :) My only regret is stopping the camera too early, but check out the huge butt wiggle! I love it!