Mercies New Every Morning

Re: my hypoglycemic rant yesterday
Nothing a handful of Mike and Ikes and working on my memory verses during my swim workout at 5 this morning won't fix!
Just me and Jesus, swimming laps and talkin'.
I am sure my lap buddies think I have lost my senses!
Or they are just used to the "Sasquatch wearing the silver swim cap who carries the bag of index cards and is constantly muttering to herself while she swims".

Slow and Painful Death..By Coupons

So we started the Dave Ramsey Money Makeover in March with goals of no debt before we buy a house. No school loans, no car payments. A decision made in haste now that I think about it more clearly. Now, don't get me wrong. I am all for this. I have prayed my hubby would get on the Ramsey ban wagon for many a years. He is on. I, however, want to jump off the moving wagon and rip my sack cloth. I still love the idea. I still love the end result (or what I imagine it will be like) but two things this week are wearing me thin.
The tiny little rent house we are currently living in and clipping coupons. Now, the issue with the townhouse is not the size although it is small but how much space does one really need? It is that we can not do anything to it. My creative expression to create a "home" is stifled! I must create! I must paint! I must re-tile! I must hang a photo, for all that is good and holy! My sketches of remodeling the kitchen or dry stacking the fireplace are nothing more than unused napkins. I finally gave in and hung up one wall hanging that I got for Christmas that says, "Welcome. Christ is the head of this house and the unseen guest in every room." I am pretty sure somewhere there is a commandment about "Thou shall not have white walls." HGTV and DIY is just too painful any more. Possibly living here without decorating makes it seem like we are still in transition?
The coupon clipping is driving me crazy! A hour a week of work to save 5 bucks! We have stayed on budget of $100.00 a week for groceries but my sanity has got to be worth more. Something about this week has made the task slightly better than a hot poker to the eye. Possibly PMS? And sweet Mo is helping me and clipping with me and running the calculator for me and going to the store with me, which he has never done in 14 years of marriage, but when you just want to get the food and get out, it is just a slow and painful death.
And at the risk of sounding like a spoiled 2 year old: Ladies and Gentleman, the new has worn off the Money Makeover! The Honeymoon has ended!

Our Brush with Fame (kinda)

I got the blessing of hanging out with my sweet friend, Carolyn Churchill, for a short time today while she is in town from Oklahoma watching grandkids. Our conversation drifted to her dear friend of many years, Kay Larsen. I know of Kay just as one of Carolyn's friends. She begins to tell me of Kay's (and her husband) amazing life as a bible translator for a Mayan Indian tribe in Mexico, Wycliffe Bible Translators. This perks my ears up because I have heard that somewhere in Kami's homeschooling studies but couldn't place it. Carolyn is basically writing Kay's life story and has known her since the 60s. Any what a servant Kay is!
I get home and ask Kami about the Wycliffe name and it turns out she read about the founder, Cameron Townsend, in a book by the same name. I relay this to Carolyn via text and it turns out "Unlce Cam" ,as Kay knows him, was actually the very one who sent her and her beloved groom to Mexico!
How cool is that and what a small world we live in! Thanks Carolyn for being a faithful friend and servant to us all, especially Kay and can't wait to read this mighty woman's legacy.
And it dawns on me as I am so star struck by the whole situation, that the real "celebrity" is always just a thought a way. My sweet Jesus. AND he wants to spend time with little ole me...how humbling.

Oklahoma City is Alive and Kickin'!

A couple of weekends ago Mo and I participated in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon commemorating the 10th anniversary of the bombing that claimed so many innocent lives. Mo ran in a marathon relay and I walked a half marathon. We went with some friends who had family in the area and got to listen to first hand accounts of that day and those that followed. Our friend Todd actually worked in the district and drove past the bomb 2 minutes before it went off. We spent the day before the race touring the memorial grounds with Todd as our personal tour guide and reading the many heartfelt messages that were left in remembrance. The "empty chairs" is just amazing. The destruction was unbelievable. It was so enlightening and tender but perhaps the most profound was the statue right outside the memorial. It is a statue of Jesus with his back to the bombing site and his hands covering his face as he weeps. And the simple words, "Jesus wept."
What a reminder that Jesus knows everything but is still saddened by our sin. He feels what we feel and loves us anyway. The heart is heavy and it makes you wonder about the evil that exists in this world that it can makes a mind think destroying people in such a massive way is appropriate. It was disturbing.
Perhaps the most awesome realization for me was on race day. As I walked the 13.1 miles, people lined the streets, cheering and offering encouragement. Music played from homes and people tailgated while enjoying the scenes and their neighbors. Posters honoring those who perished and thanksgiving for "those who walk and run for those who can't" littered every mile. Make shift concession stands with kids handing homemade treats and drinks nourished us each step while live music blared for the last 2 miles.
And in the final stretch, I become very aware, the bombing has nothing on this city. Good prevails. God is good all the time. The people of Oklahoma City have risen form the ashes and are a better and stronger city because of it. What evil seeks to destroy, the Lord brings blessings.