Migration...

I've finally made the decision to migrate this here blog to WordPress. Why? Oh, about a hundred different reasons, least of which is the fact that I have one too many Google accounts and getting into and out of Blogger can be a bit challenging at times. Regardless, you'll be pleased to know I'm beginning to write again, which is good. It means you'll occasionally have something to read.

You'll just have to read it at akatereynolds.wordpress.com instead!

Small (Vague) Update

Hi everyone. I know I've been incredibly absent lately. The beginning of the year rolled in like nothing I've ever seen, and now Christopher and I are processing some things that have happened in the last week. Essentially, we could really just use a lot of prayer. We want God to be glorified in all we do, particularly in the attitudes we hold in our hearts.

Anyway, I know that's terribly vague. Maybe someday I'll feel up to writing about what's going on, but today is certainly not that day.

Thanks for loving us! We are grateful for the people God has placed in our lives.

Weekend Workroom: Simple wall art

For a long while, we've still been trying to figure out how to fill those empty walls we tend to find throughout our home. We're getting there, but it has been a slow process because we haven't wanted to put things up just because we have them. We wanted to put things up that were meaningful or actually might qualify as grown-up art.

And, yes, I know grown-ups rarely refer to themselves as "grown-ups."

I came across this project, however, and figured that if it worked it could be a really awesome way to make our own "art" pieces for both our bedroom and for the living room (which, aside from the Christmas season when stockings are hung on the wall, can be pretty barren). If it didn't work, I realized I wouldn't be out a ton of money and I would have at least spent an afternoon trying something new.

A quote Christopher has really come to love lately (that I'm trying to work into my own heart and mentality, as well) is from G. K. Chesterton: "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly."

So, I set out to try this project. I bought most of my supplies at Michael's, but I shift my supplier (that sounds so much more official than it actually is) based on what is on sale. Michael's happened to have the better deals on large (I think they were 18x20-inch canvas packs), as well as a coupon for the Helvetica packs that I used for the lettering. I think I bought the paint there, too.

The project was initially supposed to be a secret but, as most people who know and Christopher and I well, we don't do particularly well with secrets. We maybe keep them for two days. Then it's all over. The main reason this project didn't stay a secret was because I wanted something that would be meaningful for Chris and I wanted his input. We finally (after much debate) settled on short bits of one of the verses from "Be Thou My Vision," which is one of Christopher's favorite hymns (if not his favorite).

And, since the process takes a while, we're still trying to figure out what to put on the other set, which is why they haven't been put together yet...

Regardless, I liked how the panels turned out, particularly because I took the time to draw the necessary grids and to space letters for each panel, knowing that I am not capable of making anything straight on my own. We decided to keep this set (for our bedroom) really simple, only doing one color per panel. Some colors needed more coats of paint than others (particularly the deep red), but I just kept at it - I did laundry and cleaned the house bit by bit between coats. The paint did bleed in a bit (like the one from A Beautiful Mess), but from any distance it's not too bad. It adds a bit of texture and gives the Helvetica a bit of a distressed look, which is kind of cool (in my opinion).

Anyway, it was a fun, simple way to do wall art. I'm looking forward to completing some more in the coming year and continuing to make our home both beautiful and meaningful.

Stash-busting V: Gift-wrapping, Round 2

So, seriously, like EPIC FAIL.

I realized after arriving at my parents' house for the holidays that I forgot to upload pictures I had already taken to Blogger, thus disabling my ability to update  this particular series of posts, which is what I had planned...

I'm very, very sorry for that, but it was good in other ways... like had-a-lot-of-time-to-be-quiet-and-think ways. It was really good to have more than a full week off, to not feel the need to always be somewhere. Times like that really force you to be honest with your own heart.

But more on that some other time.

I wrapped a lot of gifts before we left, continuing to whittle down my stash of gift-wrap supplies. The result? I barely made a dent in what I have left. Sure, I got rid of a few rolls of paper that were nearing their ends and a few rolls of ribbon, but I still have plenty to wrap next year's gifts and possibly more.

Just another lesson for me that I need to use what I have because I have been given so much, even when you're just counting my wrapping paper stash.

Regardless, I still feel like I wrapped some pretty gifts. For gift cards, I taped the same tags I used for everything else onto small white (thank-you card) envelopes, which ended up looking clean but still kind of neat. Here are some images from the second round:

I think the last gift was my favorite in terms of wrapping... The paper was thick enough to not tear easily, but still made good creases and wasn't too glossy to keep tape on. In my view, this is essentially a perfect wrapping paper. I still have plenty left to wrap some things next year, and that makes me look forward to next Christmas!

Stash-busting IV: Gift-wrapping, Round 1

As a continuance of my stash-busting mentality for this Christmas, I decided I needed to bust my gift-wrap stash. Every year, I go out and methodically select wrapping paper and ribbon so that all of my efforts are coordinated and beautiful. I love wrapping gifts, and I love making them pretty.

That being said, I have a lot of half-finished rolls of wrapping paper and spools of ribbon that I've picked up on clearance just sitting in my wrapping paper storage bag (yes, I'm that person). I decided that, this year, I needed to finish off what I already had before I could be justified in purchasing anything new. Should all go as planned, I should be cleaned out and ready to start looking for new paper for next year right as everything goes on post-Christmas clearance (which is the best time to buy anything that you needed before Christmas!).

I'm taking gift-wrapping in chunks this year so that papers are similar in the same families. My first set of gifts to wrap was for my brother-in-law, his wife, and their two boys. I chose two similar papers, both with snowflakes, and wrapped as many as I could in one paper before moving on to the next. For tags, I chose monogram letters this year, printed on card stock that I had left over from last year (stash-busting all over the place). I used this font (Apex Lake), which is available for free at dafont.com.

Thus, I give you a glimpse at my first round of wrapped gifts:

Stash-busting III - Lovely Cowl

So, I want to preface this stash-busting post by letting you know that I totally failed in following this pattern so that the product was as it should be. I realized more than halfway through that I missed something in the instructions that affected the pattern, but I kept going and I still like the results.

Here's the pattern, from Patons. I think you have to create an account to actually log in and see it. But they have a great pattern library online, so it might be worthwhile to sign up just because of that.

I also didn't use Patons yarn, since I didn't have any in my stash. What did I use, you might ask? Baby yarn. Because it's super-soft and it was pretty.

Yarn: Baby Bee, Sweet Delight Baby (60% Acrylic, 40 % Polyamide)
Color: Iris Dreams

Really simple cowl. Essentially, I alternated rows of dtr and sc stitches. You're supposed to alternate one row dtr and three rows sc, but I missed the repeat. At the end, when everything gets joined together, I improvised rather than following the pattern and chained 5 for the dtr rows and single-chained into the sc rows because I didn't want just a line of single chain.

Regardless, here's the result:

It's a Christmas present, so I'm not naming who I made it for. You'll just have to deal. And I'm debating making a second one, since I have more yarn... though I'll try to do it correctly this time.

Stash-busting II - The BFS

One of the first holiday projects I began was this front door stocking that I found at the Caron web site. I used the size of hook that was recommended and a bunch of leftover red yarn balls (if you look really closely, you can tell that they weren't all the same color, but in the dim light of our living room at any time of day, you can't tell at all). The pattern says that the gauge doesn't matter, but let me tell you something:

The gauge does matter.

That's why I've labeled this the "Big Freaking Stocking." Honestly, that's what I call it at home. I look at it and think, "Man, that is a big freaking stocking."

It's supposed to be about 11" wide overall, but mine is at least 13" (which equates to about 5 extra circular inches). It wasn't a terribly intensive project, because it made up pretty quickly and it's worked in continuous rounds so there's not a bunch of time wasted in the turning, but it is certainly big.

It's pretty great, in spite of its size. I decided to not do the buttons that are part of the pattern, but just leave the lacy cuff as-is instead. It's one of those classic decorations, and I can always look back and laugh at how I didn't think it would be so big in the end.

Here it is:

Stash-busting I

It has certainly been a while since I last posted, well, anything. Our no-media November was a great stretch to refresh our hearts in what matters, to read, to work on projects, and to simply get things done.

December, thus far, has been an odd mixture of both, mostly because this season is busy! And, for me, December often means that I'm trying to finish up as many half-finished projects has humanly possible before Christmas arrives.

This year, I decided I needed to bust my stash.

Hopefully, this will need little explanation. Most of us have a stash. It's that section of storage that is made up of leftover and inherited craft supplies that you keep, but for which you have never found a use.

Well, I decided mine was overgrown and needed to be trimmed down, so I took a strategic aim at Christmas gifts in particular (but, you know, projects in general) trying to find items that could be made with stuff I already had.

My yarn collection is receiving the brunt of the fall cleanup, while I'm thinking my fabric stash will receive the brunt of the spring/summer cleanup.

See, this was my yarn collection before I began sifting through it:

I scoured a bunch of sites for free crochet patterns to see what my options were, and I was pretty amazed at what I found: Everything from stuffed animals to home decor to practical things like dishrags and mop covers, and scarves, hats and clothing. I printed off my favorites, set all my yarn out on a clean couch (I know, right? It's been a while since that last happened) and started matching project printouts to yarn I already had.

Great sites with free project patterns:
caron.com
favecrafts.com
michaels.com
redheart.com

Over the next few weeks, I hope to bring you glimpses of what I've done with my stash (though some projects are, naturally, still unfinished). The first major project I undertook was the gingham blanket I finished earlier this fall, which was done completely with stash yarn. But there's a lot more to come...

For the Love of Books: 2012 Reads

Books I read in 2012...

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

Todd Burpo & Lynn Vincent, 2010

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

Nicholas Carr, 2010

   This was a book from Christmas 2010. I began reading it on the shuttle from our apartment complex to campus when I was still doing the "going to class" thing. Then, Christopher's accident happened, I put down the book, and I haven't gotten into much that has to with my field since. Since we had a long car trip down and back from Arizona, I decided I was going to read, loaded my suitcase with books, and hoped I would get around to this.

   As it had been more than a year since I read the first half of the book, I started over. It's not an incredibly difficult read, but you'll probably want to be awake because of the way Carr walks through the brain's plasticity and the historical perspectives around various written and (now) mediated technologies, leading to the Internet. It's a great narrative, missing some of the technological skepticism from his first novel, The Big Switch. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, and definitely deserving of the nomination. 

In Praise of Prejudice

Theodor Dalrymple, 2007

The Idiot
Fyodor Dostoevsky,1868-1869

 
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

   One of four absurdly large volumes that I received for Christmas (by request), I'm eager to dive into the world that Conan Doyle created that still captivates millions today. I love that, while the opening and closing tales are quite lengthy, the middle is constructed of several shorter stories concerning the world's most infamous fictional detective, which make for easier swallowing and less preoccupation - things I don't think I'll find so much in Eliot's Middlemarch or Dostoevsky's The Idiot. I'm fairly certain that my desire to read the classics increases almost every time I pick up a modern piece of fiction, and I love that Barnes and Noble has simple editions that make them readily accessible!

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

   After finishing the first volume of this collection, I'm diving into the second. Aside from the odd adventures and cases, the stories when assembled like this present an interesting literary delight. The combination of Watson as narrator and his telling of past cases and Holmes is an interesting juxtaposition. It's written as a biography of sorts, which makes the stories all the more interesting for me because there are so many layers. It's no surprise that people at the time thought the stories and Holmes were real, as they seamlessly are woven into the London of Doyle's day.

The Prodigal God

Timothy Keller, 2008

Til We Have Faces: A Myth Retold

C.S. Lewis, 1956

   Lewis' last piece of fiction, published after the last of the Narnia series (The Last Battle) and just before his marriage to Joy Gresham, is perhaps my favorite - but certainly for much different reasons than his other fiction. The book retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche and, though not allegorical, has always managed to cause me to delve into the deep places of my soul looking for the light of the living God.

   I finally purchased a new copy for myself, but am trying to read it on car trips with Christopher, which means that it is taking quite a while to get into... 

Now is Gone
Geoff Livingston, 2007

   One of the most influential books for my study of communication on the current organizational level, I'm re-reading this one as I begin my ventures back toward finishing my thesis. Livingston's understanding of how public relations is changing in light of new media strategies and online communities is without comparison in my opinion - particularly as he is one of the few who approaches the subject in a practical way for everyday media managers. Excited at the prospect of reading his latest release, Welcome to the Fifth Estate: How to Create and Sustain a Winning Social Media Strategy after I finish.

The Fitting Room

Kelly Minter, 2011

As with Minter's No Other gods, I have found myself re-reading this volume of her wit and wisdom. When I first read through the chapters on forgiveness and peace last summer, I was challenged in how I work through things - particularly past hurts. This winter, with everything that has been going on, I've been challenged to live and believe differently while navigating this season. There is something about Minter's tone, charm, warmth, and understanding of reality that just draws me in and invites me to read her books over and over.

 
Emily Climbs

L.M. Montgomery, 1925

   If you haven't figured it out, I have a serious love for Lucy Maud Montgomery. It's just one of those things that I feel I need as a part of my daily diet. Having read and re-read the Anne of Green Gables series, a friend loaned me the Emily of New Moon series, which are proving a slower read because I'm unfamiliar with them (unlike the others, which I zip through because I know them so well!). There's a simplicity to Montgomery's work that is so refreshing. She wasn't necessarily trying to impress people - she just wanted to convey everyday life and the extraordinary people that inhabit it. As a result, I'm quite enjoying the series and looking forward to adding them to the pile of Montgomery reads that I re-read more regularly than I probably have time to do.

Emily's Quest
 L.M. Montgomery, 1927

The Golden Road
L.M. Montgomery, 1913 

Kilmeny of the Orchard
L.M. Montgomery, 1910 

Short Stories: 1896-1901

L.M. Montgomery, 1896-1901

   I find Montgomery's short stories to be the perfect endcap to a day. Each is beautifully executed in the same style as the rest of her work and is self-enclosed, which means I can put it down when my time to go to sleep arrives. All available for free on Kindle. Awesome.

Short Stories: 1902-1903
L.M. Montgomery, 1902-1903

Short Stories: 1904
L.M. Montgomery, 1904
 

Short Stories: 1907-1908

L.M. Montgomery, 1907-1908

Short Stories: 1909-1922
L.M. Montgomery, 1909-1922 

Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way

Shauna Niequist, 2010

Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

Shauna Niequist, 2007 

Redeeming Love
Francine Rivers, 1991/2005 

What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage

Paul David Tripp, 2010 

I apologize for my unplanned hiatus...

...it will continue at least until the end of November, and here's why:

http://summitview.com/blog/entryid/60/no-media-november

If you have questions, and you know me personally, you can send me an email (I'm checking that twice a day), text, or grab me sometime when you see me. I look forward to returning to this here blog and having my heart set right again. See you soon!

Upcoming & Now Online...

I do, in fact, have a Weekend Workroom to post, but I've been sucked down the Hurricane Sandy rabbit hole (because I am a news junkie - there is no doubt). Hopefully I'll get that up tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, there's a new post of mine at the Summitview blog about how literature affects my desire to be in the Word. You can check it out here:
http://summitview.com/blog/entryid/49/jane-austens-impact-on-bible-reading-and-other-thoughts-about-the-literature-bible-connection

And, just as a disclaimer, I did have a different title for it originally... Don't remember what in particular, but it was a little shorter! Enjoy!

Weekend Workroom: Finishing

This weekend was about finishing things.

For one, the inside of our front door has long looked like this:

Not very attractive, to be sure, but it at least got sanded somewhere along the way, which means it's been leagues ahead of the outside of the door (or the house for that matter - if you visit, you'll understand how our house is not-so-pretty from the outside).

While Chris and his dad worked on outside stuff, getting the yard ready for winter (and for our dogs not to have mud to roll around in!), I decided I was going to tackle some painting projects that have long sat unfinished. I'm still mid-project on a few of them, but it was nice to finally get somewhere... A few hours and two coats of paint later, our front door now looks like this:

It's really pretty. I rehung my wreath there tonight. It just seemed right.

Anyway, after that, we went to our semi-annual teens-run-around-in-the-dark-with-noodles youth ministry night last night and I tackled the last round and a half of the border on the blanket I've been working on since this spring (see here and here for beginnings and mid-point). I got to the last 20 stitches and I ran out of yarn in my skein. So, I finished it after I went home. And it's awesome. Definitely one of my favorite projects. Consequently, I'm back to work on Christopher's blanket now. Some pictures of the finished product:

It was nice to finish some things for a change. Off for another busy week!

Weekend Workroom: Fall Color

I've been looking for inexpensive ways to decorate our home for the seasons, particularly fall, whose color palette I really enjoy... so I'd been shopping around and finding a ton of things that I liked that came at a pretty steep cost (can't really afford a $40 wreath, you know?).

Regardless, I came across a few tutorials for time-light, investment-light (I spent about $10 total on felt, fabric, and yarn) projects, made a run to the craft store last Monday while waiting for our vehicle to get an oil change, and invested my afternoon in making my home a little more colorful. Here's what I came up with:

Tricks + Treats: Autumn Fabric Wreath by Elise Blaha
I purchased $5 worth of fabric quarters (they were on sale for $1.25/ea. at Joann's) in 4 colors and spent a bit of my afternoon cutting (and tearing, because ripping fabric is quite a bit of fun) the quarters into 1x7-inch strips. I just followed the tutorial and tied them one at a time, right next to each other (in a repeating order because I don't do "random" so well).

Fall Leaves Garland DIY
This was one of the easiest projects I've done in a while, though it did require a bit of prep work. I made a few of these and gave them away as birthday presents to some friends (I kept one for myself, don't worry!). I grabbed a bunch of fall-colored felt at Hobby Lobby (reds, yellows, oranges, greens, browns) and some craft yarn. The leaves I just cut out free-form, some multiple sheets at a time. I used about 40 leaves per garland because they were 2-3 inches in length and that was what I was going for in length. Mixed them all together in a paper bag and pulled them out at random (though I did have rules for how close leaves of the same color could be). You can make them however long, but it does get tiring after a while of continuing to push the ones at the bottom further down the yarn. Tied each off at the end.

My house looks a little more festive for the season, and I'm pretty excited about it all. I like the fall. The leaves are turning and the air is much cooler than it was over the summer.

And, to beat it all, I didn't spend $40 on a wreath.

Media Monday: "The Shallows"

Over the last three years, I have read a lot of very interesting books and articles in my quest to get my master's degree. The result is that I have fed my nerdiness. While trying to ease my way back into studying and reading things related to my field so that I can get back on track toward finishing my thesis (and consequently, my degree), I picked up The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr.

It's a book I received for Christmas in 2010, which I started and then put aside with all of my field-related studies when Christopher got hurt and we bought/started renovating our home. I picked it up again over spring break and finished reading it shortly after returning home. I was blown away, and immediately started synthesizing the book's content.

The premise pertains to how the Internet is completely changing how our brains work, particularly with regard to how we remember things and how we engage with life. Carr deftly describes how our cognitive functioning is interacting with the change in how and where we gather our information:

Imagine filling a bathtub with a thimble; that's the challenge involved in transferring information from working memory into long-term memory. By regulating the velocity and intensity of information flow, media exert a strong influence on this process. When we read a book, the information faucet provides a steady drip, which we can control by the pace of our reading. Through our single-minded concentration on the text, we can transfer all or most of the information, thimbleful by thimbleful, into long-term memory and forge the rich associations essential to the creation of schemas. With the Net, we face many information fuacets, all going full blast. Our little thimble overflows as we rush from one faucet to the next. We're able to transfer only a small portion of the information to long-term memory, and what we do transfer is a jumble of drops from different faucets, not a continuous, coherent stream from one source. (pp. 124-125)

Carr details how this change has happened in his own habits - how he writes, reads, works - and contrasts it with historical perspectives and understandings of the brain (something he does really well in The Big Switch, his first book). Breadth of knowledge may be increasing, but there are signs pointing to a decrease in depth of knowledge (hence, Carr's title).

The book is a great read, engaging and thoughtful. It was even a Pulitzer finalist. These are reasons I encourage you to pick it up yourself and give it a read. I will, however, share one of the most fascinating sections from my trip through its pages:

It's not hard to see why books have been slow to make the leap into the digital age. There's not a whole lot of difference between a computer monitor and a television screen, and the sounds coming from speakers hit your ears in pretty much the same way whether they're being transmitted through a computer or a radio. But as a device for reading, the book retains some compelling advantages over the computer. You can take a book to the beach without worrying about sand getting in its works. You can take it to bed without being nervous about it falling to the floor should you nod off. You can spill coffee on it. You can put it down on a table, open to the page you're reading, and when you pick it up a few days later it will still be exactly as you left it. You never have to be concerned about plugging a book into an outlet or having its battery die. (pp. 99-100)

Now, it is certainly no secret that I love books, or even that I love real, printed ones. But a lot of what Carr relates about how the format of the book has changed as it has made its way into interactive platforms is mind-boggling to me. It ceases to be just reading. We lose our ability to simply be lost in whatever it is that we're reading.

Sure, we all know that it can be easy to lose one's train of thought while reading a book, but you realize it when you come to recognize you don't have a clue what is happening on the page and either put it down for a time when you can concentrate or get back on track. With a lot of electronic and interactive book platforms, there are more than our own trains of thought going while we read:

Christine Rosen, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, recently wrote about her experience using a Kindle to read the Dickens novel Nicholas Nickleby. Her story underscores Johnson's fears: "Although mildly disorienting at first, I quickly adjusted to the Kindle's screen and mastered the scroll and page-turn buttons. Nevertheless, my eyes were restless and jumped around as they do when I try to read for a sustained time on the computer. Distractions abounded. I looked up Dickens on Wikipedia, then jumped straight down the Internet rabbit hole following a link about a Dickens short story, 'Mugby Junction.' Twenty minutes later I still hadn't returned to my reading of Nickleby on the Kindle."

When we step outside of the traditional book platform, we step into a world filled with rabbit trails. They all lead to information of some sort or another, but is it good information? Is it actually leading to a depth of knowledge, a depth of understanding? Do we actually understand the book better?

These are all good questions, and I think Carr has some good thoughts on how our brains are changing with our constant and overflowing influx of information and stimuli. If you want to read it, I recommend a paper copy. Might even let you borrow mine.

Weekend Workroom: THE Pumpkin Patch

So... be prepared for a bit of a picture dump.

At the end of last month, we went to Nebraska to celebrate my brother-in-law's 30th birthday. On our way back from Omaha, we stopped at Vala's Pumpkin Patch to experience the now-annual family trip with our nephews. It's quite the place. Didn't think we'd spend the whole day there, but we did.

There were a lot of animals to see and pet:

Definitely a few cuties to hang out with:

 

 Duck races with Oma and corn mazes to get lost in...

 ...and a grown-up size jumping pillow.

 Good grub. Christopher "split" a turkey leg with Mackers.

I really liked the lanterns in one of the eating areas.

 

And, of course, pumpkins. Lots and lots of pumpkins.

I am so excited that it is finally autumn!

Thursday Thoughts: What I Learned at a Dueling Piano Bar in Omaha

As the finale for my brother-in-law's 30th birthday, Christopher and I met up with him and his wife for drinks at a dueling piano bar in Omaha. It would be a new experience for everyone and we just hoped it would be fun.

It was definitely a new experience.

First, it was extremely loud. Set in the back room of a sports bar, the room consisted of a bunch of tables (filled with all sorts of people, including a few bachelorette parties) and some pretty sizable speakers that washed out any ability to hear even the waitress trying to take our order.

Second, it seemed innocuous enough at first. A few well-known songs. Guys playing piano, singing to each other. And then came the first hit of raunch, which we assumed was in passing and would get better as the night progressed.

But, third, we were wrong. It became progressively worse. And, to be honest, it's not the cursing or lewdness that got to me the most: It was the (seemingly) endless attack on marriage.

Marriage is the end of fun, of enjoying your partner. It's all about how one spouse can manipulate the other. Better enjoy the last night or nights you have before it's all over.

Chris and I later talked about how we're surprised anyone actually gets married anymore. There has to be something built into us that knows it is supposed to be meaningful, worthwhile, and beautiful. Most of the world has just seen the bad examples, the "irreconcilable differences," the affairs, the drifting apart after multiple decades together.

The Christian side of things isn't really any better. More than half of those marriages end in divorce, just like the rest. What's missing? Why are we failing at something we so obviously desire but just can't seem to get right?

About a month ago, I had a pretty rattling dream where I was surrounded by a number of believing couples whose marriages I greatly respect who, at the influence of one member of the group, decided that they should all get a "mass" divorce and swap wives. (Most of this is probably due to subconscious fears rooted in experiences at one of the churches my family attended while I was growing up, which is a long, crazy story.)

And, as they began to strip off their wedding rings and celebrate the finalized dissolution of their marriages, I got up on the table and started yelling at them about how foolish they were, about how God would never divorce them - and He had every reason to do so.

Which is BIG for me, you know, because whenever I start yelling in dreams, nothing actually comes out of my mouth. I typically start yelling and realize that no sound is coming out, and become increasingly burdened until I wake either shaking or weeping.

But I was definitely yelling in my dream, and I awoke with the words, "God will never divorce you," rolling over and over in my head. There is so much power in those words that we too often neglect.

You see, Christopher and I are married. We took vows in front of family, friends, and God, and we celebrated in style like so many others do. But we are committed to more than just one another. We're committed to something deeper - that Christ's sacrifice for the Church (His bride) ought to shape us and how we understand marriage. And divorce is not an option.

It's a covenant that's deeper than affection. It's rooted in the very fact that Christ chose us when we did not deserve it, but He did it anyway. We whore after lesser things, thinking they will fulfill us. We have been unfaithful to the Faithful One. Yet, though we fail Him time and again, He upholds His covenant with us that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Marriage can be a beautiful, life-giving thing. The world may see chains, but I see freedom in the fact that God will hold me to my covenant to this man. Freedom from fear. Freedom to believe that, in the same way, God holds Himself to His covenant to me. He will never divorce me. What a beautiful truth upon which to build my life and my marriage.

And, to think, I learned that at a dueling piano bar in Omaha.

Media Monday: Reassessing Facebook

While I am going to start pulling together some thoughts on media to post here (that whole trying-to-start-finishing-my-thesis thing), here's a little something to kick it all off: My latest post over at the Summitview blog, which is an update of my original I'm-leaving-Facebook post from 2010.

You can find the permalink for the blog post here: http://summitview.com/blog/entryid/30/two-years-sober-why-i-left-facebook-and-haven-t-gone-back

Happy reading!

Weekend Workroom: Gingham Update

Okay, so remember this blanket I started on back in March? Well, I didn't get very far on it before I went back to work and it became too warm to work on a blanket...

Which is one thing that is awesome about the fact that it is finally cooling off around here and acting like autumn (because, as it turns out, it is now autumn)! The last few days, I've been picking it up and working on it while Chris and I have done sick-people lounging (I think I have a sinus infection, but I don't really know if I have one, I suppose).

Regardless, the result is that it keeps on growing... The body of the whole thing is 55 rows, and I'm nearing the 35th of those rows. It's such a small blanket, but I guess that makes sense because it's meant to be for a small person (I make these connections, sometimes!). It's turning out to be a great little blanket, one of my favorite projects for sure, though it really does have a wrong side, as I mentioned in my initial post. Orderly strings and tie-offs everywhere. See?

Next, I'm hoping to make some headway on my thesis and make myself a skirt or two because I bought fabric for that purpose when I spent time with my mom a few weeks back. I've been wanting to learn how to make clothing for a long time, so I'm pretty excited to get started on that...

Weekend Workroom: Jamstress

**SIDE NOTE: I know this is totally, completely later than anticipated... I've been trying to figure out how to hook up our new camera in the little time I've had at home over the last few weeks. We've been gone back-to-back weekends, first to celebrate my husband's birthday and then to celebrate my brother-in-law's 30th, with a few shortened weeks and a couple trips through getting our car back from the shop thrown in there. It's been a bit crazy, but I finally have a real day off today. I'll be blogging, meal planning, grocery shopping, and doing all the things that I've really been missing about my life... Regardless, I give you jam!**

I must confess, I don't know if I ever thought of making jam before. There's been something really cool, however, about making my own tomato soup, and there's always been a draw for me in the canning process (my grandmother used to can their garden each year and my mom occasionally cans when she finds great deals on veggies and fruit), so I figured I'd give it a try whenever the opportunity presented itself.

So, we had some friends offer us some plums a few weeks back, from the tree in their backyard (Italian plums, the best I could tell). I did some research and discovered a simple recipe that didn't use pectin, a traditional canning process, or twice as much sugar as plums (believe it or not, it's common to have a recipe for twice as much sugar as fruit, which just seems silly to me). This was all just an experiment. I don't even like plums, as a general rule.

But I found this recipe:
http://savorysweetlife.com/2009/09/plum-jam-recipe-no-pectin-needed/

And I went to work. I had a lot of plums, and I tried a number of ways to get them out of their skins. In the end, though, what worked best was making sure I had clean hands and using my fingers to remove the fruit... I found I got more of the fruit that way in the least amount of time. It was a really messy process, so make sure you've got a space that can take some sticky mess and be easily cleaned afterward.

The main place I deviated from the recipe was that I put my fruit pieces into a blender, rather than let them just cook down to the right consistency. I wanted an even consistency because I'm a odd sensitive-to-texture person, so I did it this way. You could certainly let the plum pieces cook down if you want a fleshier sort of consistency.

If you have a splatter screen, you'll want to use it. I still have a small mark from where a bit of molten plum mixture jumped up and landed on my arm.

As soon as it was done, I poured it into two clean pint canning jars, using a canning funnel. I made a double batch, or I would have only filled one pint jar. I tasted it while hot and really enjoyed the flavor of the jam. Then, I let it cool and refrigerated both jars, where three can be stored for up to three months. I'm not sure it'll last until then. It's pretty tasty.

So, that's my adventure in jam-making. I like the title "Jamstress," (Gilmore Girls, anyone?) so maybe I'll do this again!

The Summitview Blog

Hi all! As part of my job, I'm writing occasional posts for the new Summitview blog (www.summitview.com/blog). It should be fairly similar to the feel of this blog, but trying to stay in line with the church's vision (so maybe not so many recipes and craft projects, you know?)

Regardless, you can check it out every other Friday. My first post was due this past week, and can be found at:
http://summitview.com/blog/entryid/22/triumph-and-hope-in-challenging-places

Dependent on how the rest of the day goes, I'm hoping to off-load some pictures for a Weekend Workroom post that I think is pretty cool. Stay tuned!