The Christmas Conundrum

Jen Hatmaker, a wonderful writer and woman of God has this great blog. I linked to one of her posts a few weeks ago on adoption and encourage you to check that out when you have time.

This blog post is on Christmas and how out of whack it has become. She talks about how her family is trying to combat the selfishness that arises during what is supposed to be a sacrificial, giving holiday. Things like watching less TV so they don't have to deal with the extra advertising, buying fewer gifts and giving her kids money to spend on projects around the world.

I appreciate her honest approach and understanding that not everyone will agree and choose to do what she does. I can relate to her feeling that during the month of December people feel off-kilter -- they want to be kind and giving, but there are feelings of obligation and selfishness that seem to always creep in.

This year was probably the first I've given much thought to it. For the past couple of years I have cut back on gifts, but mostly due to a smaller budget and not necessarily to be conscious about celebrating the birth of our Savior instead of the commercialized version of Christmas. My trip to Haiti, and subsequent changes in how I look at things and deal with money had me feeling all weird when my mom requested a wish list for Christmas. The sad thing? It didn't stop me from asking for a laundry list of things I don't need. Sure, I hesitated, but I still submitted the list.

Thinking of family Christmas traditions is a little weird right now because we don't have kids. But really, what better time to change your mentality on the holiday? How could I really expect to teach my {not yet existent} children about how important Jesus' birth was to all humanity if I myself get caught up in the buying of presents, parties and decorating the home? None of those are bad by themselves, but apart from teaching the significance of Christmas they are dangerous.

Deep thoughts for a Monday. ;)

Book Review: Radical

I just finished the book Radical by David Platt and it's totally worth the read! It's full of good stuff, but the overall premise of the book is that the American dream (big home, good job, lots of money) often falls counter intuitive to what Jesus actually asks of his followers. Living the way our culture says is correct can be a huge obstacle to living out our faith and loving others the way the Bible commands us to.

I will admit that the book starts off as a bit of a downer, but mostly because it was really convicting for me. It highlights a lot of the author's concerns with modern American churches. For example, he asks the question that if the entertainment factor were taken away from church (music, comfy chair, nice facilities) would we still go? Is Jesus enough for us? David Platt is a pastor of a large church in Birmingham, so I enjoyed struggling through some of the concepts with him. He tells of teaching at a secret church in Asia one week then be back in his comfortable, rich church the next and he's had a hard time reconciling those - that comes across in this book and was very genuine to me.

The book discusses topics like what we do with our money and how that may or may not help us on our walk with Christ. It introduces ideas of how to improve our world-view and care for orphans and those in need around the world.

The book ends with a challenge to do something about it. Not just read the book, but take it an put it into action. And by book I mean both the Bible and some concepts Platt introduces in Radical as well.

If you haven't read it, I would add it to your list. It's a short book that's jam packed with thought provoking material. Did you already read it? I'd love to hear what you think. Did you change anything in your lifestyle after finishing?

One thing I'm doing is asking for the book Operation World for Christmas. It's a book that takes you through countries all over the world and highlight specific needs they might have. If you finished it as planned, you will have prayed every nation in the world in one year!

I like my dog.

I just really like my dog. Look how cute he was as a puppy! He's a really happy dog and does a good job being my friend and constant heat pack. He prefers for Sean to play with him (because he can throw his Kong further), but for sure prefers to snuggle with me.

Here he is snuggling in a blanket after his bath and using my face as a pillow. He didn't think it was weird at all.

            

This is his best friend, Colonel. They live across the street from each other, go to each other's doors and stare at each other through the window. They are pretty rowdy together, but I think it's cute that they are friends. We won't be getting a second dog anytime soon, though. There are a couple of things he does that are not so cute: he plays fetch all the time. It's a good skill, but if we don't want to play he will whine for a while. He's starting to learn better, though. He will also chew holes in all pairs of underwear or pants within his reach. I've learned the hard way to not throw my pants on the floor!

I think he's extra cute near a Christmas tree. Here are this year's Christmas portraits. Doesn't this one look like a school picture? Hands crossed, head slightly tiled. hehe

He likes to hang underneath the Christmas tree and I think it's cute.

He went to the groomer this weekend, which seems to be a bit traumatic for him, but the guy does a good job. This groomer always points out that he needs to be groomed when I bring him in. I know. That's why I brought him in.

While I'm excited to be a mom someday, right now I'm really enjoying the quality time with Sean and this sweet little pup. :)

Cool sale in NWA

A disproportionate number of our friends here in NWA work at Acumen Brands. It's a really cool company that develops online retailers, like the Baby Habit, The Hectic Gourmet and Trails Edge.

This weekend they are having a warehouse sale that's going to have some mega sales here in Fayetteville. Here's a link to the Facebook event that shows all of the details. If you're in the area you should swing by and check it out. If not, you could always shop online. :)

Sore Thumbs

These wreaths are addicting and I've got the sore thumbs to prove it! They come together so quickly and provide instant gratification! They can be made in a lot of different ways, but I make them by using straw or styrofoam wreaths and using floral pins to secure the mesh {hence the sore thumbs}. These are great beginner crafting project and are really fun - I encourage you to try your hand at one if you like them. Everything can be purchased at Hobby Lobby (Sams club has gold deco mesh where I live).

Woo Pig Sooie

I maintain that my voice is not physically capable of calling the hogs. It's too high pitched for my low voice tone! Nonetheless, we live in Razorback country. The Mizzou tigers still hold our heart, but while we're here in Fayetteville we are making the most of local events (which pretty much only consist of Razorback related events). Since Sean works with the athletes and gets tons of free gear, it makes it a little easier to cheer for them. :)

 Sean's dad and his wife came in town for the South Carolina came a couple of weeks ago. They brought some pretty amazing tailgate food with them!

 Isn't Sean handsome?! This is us tailgating at the Tennessee game (after we watched Mizzou beat Texas of course!). Our friends Jon and Kristin have a pretty sweet tailgate setup - complete with big screen TV mounted in a trailer.

 My husband has worn Converse shoes since he was a little boy - he even got married in them! I've never been that attracted to them, but bought my first pair this weekend (on sale at Ross!) and really like them.

The news that Mizzou joined the SEC throws a bit of a wrench in our ability to easily cheer for both teams. We will have to see how that plays out with time!

Let's get it on: Destiny in Bloom

*Mom and other family that might read this blog: this post is about sex. Don't feel awkward reading it because I don't feel awkward writing it.

Yep, we're going there.

The other day I stumbled across this blog: Destiny in Bloom. It's a blog written for Christian women and covers topics like family, marriage, parenting and self image. I was really drawn in by the author's level of honesty and willingness to have frank discussions {albeit, online}.

This blog post, entitled 'Let's Get It On' caught my attention. This is good stuff, friends! Discussing healthy sex relationships is often considered taboo for some reason, especially among more conservative-natured people. Why? Don't get me wrong - it's a private and very tender topic. But here's the thing - God created it, right? God knows our every need and created sex within the context of marriage to be a safe and beautiful thing.

The main topics of this article are:
1. If your husband feels like a man outside of the bedroom, he will inside of the bedroom too
2. Take care of your own emotional junk
3. Use your imagination
4 Have fun with each other
5. Don't use sex as a weapon
6. It's a spiritual connection you only get to have with him

My favorite line of the blog post mentioned above {read it when you have a few minutes} is this:

"Treat your husband as if he already were the man you want him to become. I mean, you have a vision for who he can be, right? So instead of correcting, nagging, trying to get him there, treat him as if he’s already arrived."

What a piece of advice to treasure and heed!

Another resource I would point you to if you're interested in the topic is a book called Sheet Music by Dr. Kevin Lehman.