Confessions of a Grocery Store Sinner

In college, my friend Josh and his family would pack up and leave for Zambia every July.  It was always a rat race seeing them off and making sure they didn't forget anything.  One year, I helped Josh cross off some things on his frantic to-do list, and we were storming across the ACU campus to our next location when we saw the baby bird.  It was itty bitty and had fallen out of its nest. 

I grew up on a farm and felt bad, but knew it wouldn't survive once it was out. It was just the way of nature, and I intended on moving on.  Josh, however, got pretty sad about the poor little bird laying helpless in the grass.  I about laughed him all the way to Zambia for getting weepy over a bird.  But ever since then, anytime we feel that weepy feeling, we say we "went baby bird" for a little while. 

Well, today at the grocery store, I went baby bird. 

Grocery stores are like psychological experiments. You might as well cage rats and see how they react under pressure.  I think truer colors come out.  Think about it: screaming kids, people everywhere, people scrambling for the last________, impatience in line... etc. etc....

I wish I could say that this experiment doesn't apply to me, but I'm afraid it does.  A few weeks ago I was shopping, and I found myself on the floor of Wal-Mart, on my knees digging on the bottom shelf for a box of wheat thins. (Really?)  A lady on the other side of a cart was doing the same. Well, guess who found the wheat thins? ME.  They were sitting behind a tomato flavored box (yuck!).  I'd like to say that my first reaction was to give the box to the other lady looking also. But, do you know that I grabbed that box as quickly as I could and tossed it in my own cart?  Thankfully there was another box, and so only after MY needs were taken care of did I hand the box over to the lady beside me. 

Today, I only meant to be in and out for a few items and ended up searching for a spice on the baking isle.  An man in his 50s rolled up in his wheel chair, didn't say a word, and searched for what he needed.  He was so aware of those around him and made certain to stay out of everyone's way, even though no one seemed to notice him. 

As I rushed out to my car, I saw his old beat up one parked in front. He had two paper sacks full of groceries sitting on his lap as he unlocked his door, balanced the grocery bags and held his wheel chair steady. 

And that's when I went baby bird.  Where's the fairness in an older man who can't walk, watching out for everyone else and shopping alone?  How hard must his life be? I was suddenly concerned for him and wondered if he was lonely. 

Sometimes I think we think it's enough just to send money to help people, and act a different way at the grocery store.  How silly of me to be desperate for the last box of wheat thins when this man can't even walk? 

 I'm thankful to have a savior who overcomes the grocery store and all its rat cage behavior. 

Me N Jesus: Carpenters

Wanna know what Me and Jesus have in common? Carpentry.

It all started with one little project here... and one little project there... and why don't you make jewelry? Or start quilting? 

My "craft" closet it as the top of my stairs and I have been lugging heavy supplies down to the coffee table for easy crafting... but even so, my back would be killing me about halfway through.  The solution: I need a craft table!

Saturday after breakfast with the fam, I made a visit to Hobby Lobby to pick up one of the many items I need for my quilting class, and saw Home Depot next door.  Before I knew it, I was wandering around the lumber section when a burly looking Harley-ridin old man came up to me wondering what I was doing.  He had a lot of facial hair, red and bushy, and a long skinny pony tail with about 15 rubber bands holding it together.  It swayed when he walked.  He reminded me of bad-boy-Santa. 

I explained that I was needing a work table for crafts and that I wasn't sure what I was doing... He was very kind and led me to the back of the store where sure enough, treasure waited at the end!

Who knew they did this! Apparently after cuts are made, they have a bin filled with scraps for, that's right, 51 cents! After a few cuts, advice from the sweet Home Depot men, and FIVE dollars later, I was out the door and on the road to my next stop...

Ok, so you have to be creative when loading a jeep with scraps of wood. There was some flapping down the freeway. :)

Here's the "Before".  Thanks to Dad's visit in March, I have my own cordless drill-- which is so fun to use!

An hour or two later.... it's put together with only one crooked leg! Yay!

Sanded and primed with gray primer... ignore the ugly towels down below.

So this is the top of the table. I took several sheets of scrap booking paper, tore them up and pasted them down on top of the primer using Modpodge. Then, I put a thick glaze and spray sealant.  I LOVE it! It's perfect for artsy things, and who cares if it gets a few cuts here and there?

I painted the rest of the table a shade of green that I have on some of my walls. It's called, "Grape Leaf"... and I love it.

On the sides of the legs, I did some experimenting with finger paints... it's supposed to look like zebra stripes and leopard spots... There's always extra green if I decide this look stinks.

Finished!! It's a perfect height for stand up or sitting down.  It's the home of my borrowed, Old-As-The-Hills sewing machine, and great for all of the projects I have going!

Okay, so maybe I don't know about being a real carpenter, but I had a lot of fun with that drill. 
Happy Sunday!

Ohhhh What Did I Get Myself Into??

The women in my family have sewn and quilted probably forever.  I decided to take a beginners quilting class with my Mama Joy (who has no business being in there) to learn the trade and carry on the tradition. 

The class is 4 hours every Sunday afternoon, and is so far very helpful.  However, I am concerned about a few things: my bank account, my fingers (those blades are sharrrrp!), screwing up!

Today in class we went over some of the basics, picked out fabric, and got homework-- which I think I can handle. I need to cut my first two blocks before next week.  The other part of the homework, which I'm nervous about, is to prove we can sew a quarter inch seam.   Ohhh all these straight lines are the devil.  I'm going to be getting some tutoring sessions from my aunt to make it through. 

All in all, I'm excited about learning how to quilt, and about the end product-- a little throw quilt! Oh, and I LOVE my fabric. 

Here are some day 1 pictures: 

Here we are before we got started. Sorry, Mama Joy, your eyes were closed!

 Here are the fabrics I picked out! Here's a code for the picture below: Flower fabric will be the small pink flowers below.  The yellow fabric will be the yellow below, the dark green will be the dark pink below, and the black will be the green below. The turquoise is going to be my backing and binding on the side.

We are making a sampler quilt like this one. I am adding 2 more squares at the bottom...


Wish me luck!

A Perfect World?

"In a perfect world everything would be right or wrong, black or white, and everyone would know the difference.  The problem is people who think it is."   
- Neal Shusterman (Unwind) 

Haven't decided which side I'm taking, but I can't quit thinking about it. 

Confiscated



This is what I confiscated minutes before my afternoon class began. What you can't see are the makeshift itty bitty T-Rex arms clawing out. Oh, and the mouth opens to show a red tongue and scary teeth. Glad we're being productive here.



What's Left?

I keep these pictures on my filing cabinet at school.  Their haunting statement sends me a daily reminder of what has been left behind.  See her pain?


This past Monday, as I sat on my clean, pretty green couch in a nice air conditioned house, I watched a sleazy sitcom on my big, shiny TV.  A question blurted out at me, "So, someone must suffer to do good, then?" --A couple arguing.

The thought has plagued me all week.  I'd like to argue that I do plenty of good, even with my shoe collection, down comforter, daily bubble bath...  

Am I really doing good if it doesn't affect my daily comfort?

Is it wrong to be comfortable?

The story of the rich young ruler enters my mind, though I try to push it out. 
        "A man stopped Jesus and asked, ' Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?'
         Jesus said, ' Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.'
         The man asked, 'What in particular?'
          Jesus said, ' Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.'
          The young man said, ' I've done all that. What's left?'
          ' If you want to give it all you've got, ' Jesus replied, ' Go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.'
          That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go.
          As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, ' Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God's kingdom? Let me tell you, it's easier to gallop a camel through a needle's eye than for the rich to enter God's kingdom.'
           The disciples were staggered. 'Then who has any chance at all?'
           'Jesus looked hard at them and said, ' No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself.  Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it. '
... ' This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.'"
Matthew 16:19-30 The Message

I think Jesus is clear in his message about money.  Matthew 6:24 says," No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
 
Okay, Jesus. I hear you.

Then, should my Christianity be driven out of guilt for what I know is right?

No. It should be driven by love. Love for my Savior, love for those who need help. 

"Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own." 2 Cor 5:14-15 Msg

 I don't know the answer to the question that blared through the TV the other night. 

But maybe, if we just ask God to change our hearts, we can find our joy in helping others and not the comfort we have--that it will be a wish on our heart, and not an obligation formed out of guilt.  That regardless of how much we have, our master is always God, and we serve no other. 

I can identify with the young man who talked to Jesus that day. I follow the commandments, and I've wanted to know, "What's Left?"

I'd Pay 99 Cents

This marks the second time in four days that I have draped my favorite jeans over the banister to dry.  Twice I have driven through a silent but deadly type of monsoon that caught me off guard.  Isn't that why God invented thunder? To warn us about rain? Why isn't he using it??

Tis a transportational hazard. 

Hear me out, I am an advocate for Hurricane Season. It's my second favorite season. After March Madness, that is. :)

I propose that someone create a Jeep App. 

The icon would be a yellow jeep covered in mud. I mean really, would you want another color besides yellow? :)

The app could use GPS technology to locate the driver and hopefully the driver's open jeep.  If a big dark rain cloud was to suddenly appear, the trusty jeep app would use it's radar sensing skills and simply alert you to cover your jeep.  "Get your top on!" would flash across your screen and play, "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.

And maybe on sunny days, you could click on it to check the radar and it would say,  "All Clear. Rock on!" You know, with a little smiley sunshine guy with sunglasses, and a thumbs up... real cute like.

And maybe in the winter time, when all jeep drivers are depressed, there could be a countdown until the first day of spring.  With a little sad smiley face bundled up in a jacket. "Too Cold for the Road. 23 days till Spring." 

Think of the possibilities: options to buy jeep gear, off road maps, driving dry-- away from sneaky dark rain clouds....

Just sayin.  I'd pay 99 cents.