Dill Pickle Dreams

The car creeps inconspicuously past a restaurant where a policeman is on the lookout outside. As the car passes, the police recognize the man in the back seat, and give chase. Suddenly, no one else is left in the car and the man in the back seat has to scramble to the front to drive. He only makes a short distance before the engine seizes and he is forced to get out and run. The police shoot him 6 or 7 times in the back, but he still is outrunning them as he falls into a doorway in an alley. 

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" said the alarm, before I whipped it across the room. 

That was the last scene of a really complex dream I had last night. I won't waste your time with the whole story, but I think the man in the back seat was played by Bono... I never dream, so this was pretty bizarre. Although, as a kid I did have a recurring dream of playing baseball with Charlie Brown and friends. 

I don't know why I dreamt last night as opposed to any other night, but I think it was some combination of the dill pickle chips I had not long before I went to bed, and the number of times Jack Bauer came up in conversation at Community Group last night. Seriously, we were a bunch of space cadets. 

In case you couldn't tell, I'm still sick. I got off the couch once to go outside because it's 40 degrees out today (!), but before I made it around the block I felt really sick again. I took the hint and haven't left the rest of the day. My friends and roomates have been telling me to rest, but it's amazing how hard that is when it's so nice out! I hope some of you have had the chance to enjoy the weather for me. If you haven't, you should because tomorrow is supposed to be in the teens again. Eesh. Well, I'm going to go try and rest again. I'll let you know if I have any other 24 meets U2 3D dreams again--although I really hope I don't.

Correction: My friend I talk about in the Tinker Toys post did some research. Those pieces with all the holes are actually called "hubs." I feel like I should have known that! 

So, just how amazing are tinker toys? I'd say they're pretty incredible. You can build anything with them, and no one can say they are too old for them. For tactile learners, it's a great way to think with one's hands. And I'm sure it wouldn't be considered professional, but maybe they could be on the table of a building project brainstorming meeting. Just a thought. 

In reality, it's just a bucket of painted scrap wood and leftover plastic packaging materials! But how lame would the toy be if it weren't for those round little hubs with all the holes in them? I remember playing with my own set as a kid, and being perfectly happy until I was playing with a newer set at a friend's house, and they had a pulley! It was so cool, and we all wanted to use the pulley in our own projects. But without those hubs, we wouldn't have been able to build anything more than a pile for pick-up-sticks. 

I talked with a friend last night who said she felt like a Tinker Toy. Not too flashy, but the only connection between seemingly unconnected pieces. It seems there are some people in life (I would say I am one as well) who are designed to be people in the crossroads; the hubs of the tinker toy creation. Some are designed to go out from hubs, others are designed to return. Then there are those hubs to just sit...or so it feels sometimes. But God, in His wisdom and mercy, is building the most elaborate Tinker Toy project with our lives. By making us with different gifts and purposes, He is able to build what He desires. Paul says about the Body of Christ (the church), 

"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker  are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor..."  (I Corinthians 12:21-23)

To look at our fellow Christians and see their skills and design as less valuable than our own is about as ridiculous as opening your toy chest to discover your Tinker Toys have been fighting. So take heart, you were bought with a price and the Lord has glorious designs in His mind that he is still building. 

Tired Hands

This Saturday was my 24th birthday. I've never been one to make a big deal about my own birthdays, so I didn't care that I had to work Thursday to Sunday. Now, when I say "work" I don't mean your usual 9 to 5, or even church/ministry stuff. I wasn't even at Camp. No, I spent my weekend with 70 women decked out in pink and up to their ears in scrapbooking supplies. That's right, I was at the Delta Phi Scrappa, the sorority for scrapbookers, yearly initiation event.

                                                               

This is group like few others. These women get together to spend their weekends away from their crazy children, family, and jobs in exchange for laughter, community, and...I almost forgot: scrapbooking.  It's not really a sorority like in colleges, but the "freshmen" (1st timers) have to wear beanies, they have opportunities to earn grades (points) and whoever has the most at the end of the weekend they announce the pledge class president. You really should see pictures.

In the process, they also like to get pampered so they can come to me for a seated chair massage. This is like a side job to my side jobs that some of my friends don't even know about. I'll probably regret posting that here. Ever seen the people who give backrubs in the middle of the mall? Picture that, and you pretty much know what I did all weekend. I organize my time by 10 minute intervals (four+ per hour), so it gives me plenty of breaks, but by Sunday morning I wake up feeling like I've been hit by a Mac truck. This year I gave 38 total.

I know this is not how some of you like to spend your birthdays and you think I'm crazy, but I have to say I truly enjoyed it. I, however, will never wear as much pink as these ladies. 

We're in Business!

Friends, thanks to your wonderfully generous gifts I now have enough support raised to begin working! That does not mean my entire year is covered (or even half), but it does mean that I have enough to start doing more than prayer and designing business cards. I think they look great, by the way. :) I honestly still don't know what this means in detail, but I am sure my first week will be filled with questions like, "who is that person, and how are they related to us?" That should be fun. 

Prayer request: My dad and a Liberian pastor from the Twin Cities are currently in Liberia for two weeks to meet with people and work on developing a youth camp over there. The things God has been doing to bring it all about, is amazing. Please pray for health--clean food is sometimes elusive--and safety, though that is less crucial since the civil war is over. Also for my mother who is totally supportive, but this leaves her at home with my 8 yr. old sister with camp life still going on. They return the 26th. If you can't remember which one is Liberia: 

 

A Few Words on Words

We have been given the gift of language, and each word is precious. A speech with many words, however, does not equal the sum of its parts. Words, like jewels, are only valuable in their rarity. Overuse of words can turn them from a treasure to trash. This is true of words in general and individually. 

For instance, in English we have one word for deep affection: Love. We can say we "love" God, but we also "love" our shoes. We "love" our families, we "love" our friends, we "love" to work, we "love" ourselves. 

"Obviously those don't all mean the same thing!" one might say. Clearly. Maybe we can use one word for all those things since our thoughts and beliefs dictate our language. But, our language also dictates our thoughts and beliefs.  Perhaps if we had more words for love we would learn to love more deeply.