calvin friends...
do you remember that time those guys (i think on 3rd bolt) shaved that squirrel? and becca had just learned to knit and said she was going to make it a sweater?
i totally thought of that tonight and COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING.
SPEAKING of squirrels...i almost hit one yesterday. on my rollerblades. how is that possible, you ask? i am just THAT FAST.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
When I made up my mind to leave my teaching job at Grace and move to Indianapolis, there was more to that decision than just a career change. I could have stayed in southwest Michigan...done my graduate work at WMU, kept the job I LOVED, and proceeded through life in what had become my "normal." I had built a life in St. Joe that I truly loved, but there was something missing. And it's something that I've only now begun to be able to articulate. Whenever I meet new people in Indy and they ask about what brought me here, it's been hard to explain exactly why I moved here...why I left a job that was fun, fulfilling, challenging, etc...and moved to a new place. [INDIANA, no less!!!!] It's not exactly exotic, Lake Michigan is 3 hours away, and the winters are still bitterly cold. When I was in St. Joe, I think what was missing is that there was one piece of my life in which I had not stepped out in faith. Not to say that life in St joe was easy...it's actually very difficult to return to your hometown and begin a life as an adult. It involves re-working family roles and expectations along with the challenges of beginning a career, managing an apartment, and being self-sufficient. I look back on my life though, and see how those three years were absolutely essential in my own "growing up." When I graduated from college, I was in no place emotionally to pack up and move away from my entire network of support. I needed to be somewhere familiar because I was pretty raw and dealing with huge life change and broken expectation for how my life would unfold. God was so gracious though, and gave me a job at a place where I felt I fit and was loved. Those years flew by so quickly that I almost cannot believe I watched three precious classes graduate. Words cannot describe how my 3 years at Grace have enriched my life, introduced me to people who I will cherish forever, and gave me confidence to pursue this next step in my career.
What was lacking in St. Joe though was my need to truly step OUT in faith. I had so many backup plans in St Joe...if my life were a highwire act, you could say that I had about 10 nets in place in case I fell...my parents (who I knew would rescue me financially, emotionally, etc if I ever needed it), friends from high school, a familiar church, a familiar town, etc To those who have moved across the globe (or even across the country) may not see my move 3 hours south as all that daring or faithful. But it IS a big deal to say goodbye to a full and satisfying life in one to start over in another, even if it's only one state away.
What has very much been on my heart the past few weeks is not only how different my life is now than it was a year ago, but also how God has blessed me more than I really could have imagined when I prayed for a good experience in Indy a year ago. I had hoped to make a good friend or two in my program, maybe find a good church where there were another couple people with whom I could connect. So imagine my surprise and joy to not only have made a several close friends at school, but also to have a group from church of quality people who love God and challenge one another to live in abundance and truth.
I feel that my time in St Joe was an amazing time of healing, renewal, and preparation for the next step of my life. But it was in place for a season, and I am only now far enough removed from it to process what I did and learned during that time. And this reflection brings me to my knees...to see how God's timing works and how he really does answer prayers. This is something I know, but rarely trust. How many times have I asked for something out of ignorance ("God please give me a friend in Indianapolis") and God gives back many times over what I asked for?!? But there's really more to it than that. While I never regretted my decision to move to Indy, I did wonder if God could have drawn me close in faith to him when I was in St Joe. And I'm sure he could have, but I do believe that my move, and some of the loneliness that comes in the time between meeting people and truly getting to know them, drew me closer to God. I have had many quiet hours alone in my apartment....and it's been in this silence that I have made the time to pray, read the Bible, and allow myself to be vulnerable. My busy life in St. Joe was fun but it distracted me in many ways from truly knowing myself in my weakness. I felt that I had it all together. And that even if I didn't, there were nets to catch me if I let something fall. I lived a life largely characterized by obedience for obedience's sake rather than following God out of faith.
All this to say, it hasn't been the easiest thing to do--I miss my old job immensely, and I think of my past students often, sometimes with tears, sometimes with laughter. I sometimes wish that I could transplant my job at Grace and move it to Indy, that I could bring my friends from St joe to indy as well. But let's say that could happen...I would not have had the same experience in Indy as I've had. I made this move, and I take the whole experience as it is, the fulfilling parts, the empty parts, the areas where God has taught me, the areas where I'm still learning to trust. Life is a mix of the good and bad, and it's not necessarily been an easy 4 years since my college days. But it certainly has been a time of growing. With each passing day, I am coming to see Job's words as even more true for own life...I have sought to know what God has in my future, only to realize that perhaps I'm jumping the gun, asking for things that I don't understand while God' plan is too wonderful (in the overall, fulfilling sense, not in the immediate gratification or temporal pleasure sense) for me to know.
For some of you reading this, you're maybe seeing a new side of Libby :) It's where I'm at right now...processing what I've learned the past year. This is just a glimpse into my heart right now, a place that I don't always let other see. But you know what, it's who I am :)
But speaking of treasures in Indy, I will give you a Levi story of the day.
Yesterday I was over there teaching him a piano lesson. He likes to use the pedals on his keyboard, and he also likes to press this slide that changes the pitch of the keys in all kinds of wonky ways. But he gets distracted easily, so I don't let him do that stuff until the end of the piano lesson. So at the beginning, I said "Levi, let's review the rules for our piano lesson." And he replied.."These are the three rules for our piano lesson, Libby....no pitch, no pedals, no silliness."
And then he said "let me give you a hug, Libby."
What was lacking in St. Joe though was my need to truly step OUT in faith. I had so many backup plans in St Joe...if my life were a highwire act, you could say that I had about 10 nets in place in case I fell...my parents (who I knew would rescue me financially, emotionally, etc if I ever needed it), friends from high school, a familiar church, a familiar town, etc To those who have moved across the globe (or even across the country) may not see my move 3 hours south as all that daring or faithful. But it IS a big deal to say goodbye to a full and satisfying life in one to start over in another, even if it's only one state away.
What has very much been on my heart the past few weeks is not only how different my life is now than it was a year ago, but also how God has blessed me more than I really could have imagined when I prayed for a good experience in Indy a year ago. I had hoped to make a good friend or two in my program, maybe find a good church where there were another couple people with whom I could connect. So imagine my surprise and joy to not only have made a several close friends at school, but also to have a group from church of quality people who love God and challenge one another to live in abundance and truth.
I feel that my time in St Joe was an amazing time of healing, renewal, and preparation for the next step of my life. But it was in place for a season, and I am only now far enough removed from it to process what I did and learned during that time. And this reflection brings me to my knees...to see how God's timing works and how he really does answer prayers. This is something I know, but rarely trust. How many times have I asked for something out of ignorance ("God please give me a friend in Indianapolis") and God gives back many times over what I asked for?!? But there's really more to it than that. While I never regretted my decision to move to Indy, I did wonder if God could have drawn me close in faith to him when I was in St Joe. And I'm sure he could have, but I do believe that my move, and some of the loneliness that comes in the time between meeting people and truly getting to know them, drew me closer to God. I have had many quiet hours alone in my apartment....and it's been in this silence that I have made the time to pray, read the Bible, and allow myself to be vulnerable. My busy life in St. Joe was fun but it distracted me in many ways from truly knowing myself in my weakness. I felt that I had it all together. And that even if I didn't, there were nets to catch me if I let something fall. I lived a life largely characterized by obedience for obedience's sake rather than following God out of faith.
All this to say, it hasn't been the easiest thing to do--I miss my old job immensely, and I think of my past students often, sometimes with tears, sometimes with laughter. I sometimes wish that I could transplant my job at Grace and move it to Indy, that I could bring my friends from St joe to indy as well. But let's say that could happen...I would not have had the same experience in Indy as I've had. I made this move, and I take the whole experience as it is, the fulfilling parts, the empty parts, the areas where God has taught me, the areas where I'm still learning to trust. Life is a mix of the good and bad, and it's not necessarily been an easy 4 years since my college days. But it certainly has been a time of growing. With each passing day, I am coming to see Job's words as even more true for own life...I have sought to know what God has in my future, only to realize that perhaps I'm jumping the gun, asking for things that I don't understand while God' plan is too wonderful (in the overall, fulfilling sense, not in the immediate gratification or temporal pleasure sense) for me to know.
For some of you reading this, you're maybe seeing a new side of Libby :) It's where I'm at right now...processing what I've learned the past year. This is just a glimpse into my heart right now, a place that I don't always let other see. But you know what, it's who I am :)
But speaking of treasures in Indy, I will give you a Levi story of the day.
Yesterday I was over there teaching him a piano lesson. He likes to use the pedals on his keyboard, and he also likes to press this slide that changes the pitch of the keys in all kinds of wonky ways. But he gets distracted easily, so I don't let him do that stuff until the end of the piano lesson. So at the beginning, I said "Levi, let's review the rules for our piano lesson." And he replied.."These are the three rules for our piano lesson, Libby....no pitch, no pedals, no silliness."
And then he said "let me give you a hug, Libby."
Friday, July 10, 2009
"richard, can i call you dick?"...."absolutely not!"
this gets me EVERYTIME!
thanks allison, for saying what's on your mind.
thanks allison, for saying what's on your mind.
fab friends, fun runs, and no news is good news
hey friends. what up?
it seems that friday nights have become my catch-up times, wherein i stay at home and do all the things i should have done the past week. or two, as the case may be. i have done the bare minimum to keep afloat lately in school. I've also spent some QUAL-I-TY time wiht great friends and fambly, so i'm not feeling guilty. just behind. i've got a packed next-ten-days ahead of me as well, so here i find myself.
alone.
in the dark.
JK! but i cam sitting at home, exhausted from chasing some kidlins all afternoon for a project from my practicum class.
so how was your 4th of july?
thanks for asking, mine was FABULOUS. and that is no exaggeration. it was the best weekend of 2009, with the lone exception of OWNING the minimarathon with beth in may.
i will now take you through the highlights step by step.
oooh, my first highlight has nothing to do with the 4th. on june 27, my two awesome neighbors shree and serena and their cousin nanette and i did the indy nite ride, where basically 1/5 of downtown is closed down for 2 hours at 11pm on a saturday night, and 2500 bicyclists ride 20 miles through the streets of indianapolis. it was SO MUCH FUN. we got there kind of early and had hours to wait before the ride began, but we had lots of fun. next year, we're playing euchre, bringing snacks (not healthy ones, if i have anything to say about it), and basically, a good time will be had by all. if you'll be in the indianapolis area, have a bike with a headlight (or do what i did and strap a headlamp to the front. classy maneuver, i know), and a helmet, JOIN US NEXT YEAR!!! i'm serious guys, it was a blast. you missed out big time. sorry, but you did.
anyway...
back to my #1 weekend. (btw, why is it so hard to come back to real life after having a life changing experience such as the celebration of the birth of an ENTIRE NATION, or a celine dion concert. )
so it all began when allison invited herself to my parents house for a couple days. i was like, "i guess...." JK! it was so fun to bring one of my grad school friends back to the mitten (with which she was SMITTEN!) for a couple days. the bummer however was the lack of good beachgoing weather. so instead of wine tasting and sunbathing, we watched gone with the wind (longest movie ever!) and played a round of pingpong. we really know how to make the most of our time :).....actually, we stayed pretty active despite the cool weather and rain, and that activity included a workout, that, though only 20 minutes long, took DAYS for me to recover from. um, no joke. i haven't done a real sit-up since probably the presidential fitness test in elementary school. which i failed miserably. shocking, i know!
allison left for g-rap on thursday, and i played croquet for the first time in my life on thursday night. and lost. to a 67 year old. awesome. that does a real number on my whole self-concept that i'd spent the past 4 years so carefully building up. in an instant, on a summer evening's dewey grass to the tune of crickets' songs...GONE. who am i and why am i here?
jeff and mary showed up for the holiday on friday. and they brought their new....SNUGGIE. that's right, jeff is the proud new owner of the famous blanket with sleeves. but there's more... I WANT ONE NOW! seriously, the snuggie is ll it's crack'd up to be, all i'd imagined, AND MORE! i could read, without my arms geting cold. in a word? amazing.
that's no lie. if i'm anything, you should know by now, i'm a truthteller
[somewhat-related sidenote: allison, you really need to take care of those split ends. i noticed]
ok, so moving on to friday. i had a GREAT time reconnecting with kristin and abby. we spent the day getting fried on saugatuck's oval beach (known in some circles as one of the premier clothing-optional beaches in...michigan? the country? 'm not sure, but the closest we saw to nude was speedos on many a man) i came home from sauagatuck very much filled up from the good time we had just hanging out, catching up, laughing, reminsicing, and being together again. we even found a dead animal for abby to point at and take a picture. the saugatuck squirrel joins the ranks of some dead fish on the ludington beach, and some beheaded seal somewhere several years ago. abby, usually up to any challenge when it involves even a small payout, would not take me up on an offer to order "hotcakes" instead of "pancakes." off the menu. i even think i offered her a whole dollar. there are some words she just cannot be persuaded to say. but hotcakes? who would have thought....?
saturday was a run slash walk with leisa and fireworks on the beach. michigan summers are as near to perfection as you could imagine.
there's so much more i could tell you all, faithful friends, but my hands are kind of sick of typing. ii have some lofty academic goals for the rest of the evening, and plans to run 10 miles in the am, bright and early before it gets to be 90 degrees. yeehaw.
happy friday evening!
it seems that friday nights have become my catch-up times, wherein i stay at home and do all the things i should have done the past week. or two, as the case may be. i have done the bare minimum to keep afloat lately in school. I've also spent some QUAL-I-TY time wiht great friends and fambly, so i'm not feeling guilty. just behind. i've got a packed next-ten-days ahead of me as well, so here i find myself.
alone.
in the dark.
JK! but i cam sitting at home, exhausted from chasing some kidlins all afternoon for a project from my practicum class.
so how was your 4th of july?
thanks for asking, mine was FABULOUS. and that is no exaggeration. it was the best weekend of 2009, with the lone exception of OWNING the minimarathon with beth in may.
i will now take you through the highlights step by step.
oooh, my first highlight has nothing to do with the 4th. on june 27, my two awesome neighbors shree and serena and their cousin nanette and i did the indy nite ride, where basically 1/5 of downtown is closed down for 2 hours at 11pm on a saturday night, and 2500 bicyclists ride 20 miles through the streets of indianapolis. it was SO MUCH FUN. we got there kind of early and had hours to wait before the ride began, but we had lots of fun. next year, we're playing euchre, bringing snacks (not healthy ones, if i have anything to say about it), and basically, a good time will be had by all. if you'll be in the indianapolis area, have a bike with a headlight (or do what i did and strap a headlamp to the front. classy maneuver, i know), and a helmet, JOIN US NEXT YEAR!!! i'm serious guys, it was a blast. you missed out big time. sorry, but you did.
anyway...
back to my #1 weekend. (btw, why is it so hard to come back to real life after having a life changing experience such as the celebration of the birth of an ENTIRE NATION, or a celine dion concert. )
so it all began when allison invited herself to my parents house for a couple days. i was like, "i guess...." JK! it was so fun to bring one of my grad school friends back to the mitten (with which she was SMITTEN!) for a couple days. the bummer however was the lack of good beachgoing weather. so instead of wine tasting and sunbathing, we watched gone with the wind (longest movie ever!) and played a round of pingpong. we really know how to make the most of our time :).....actually, we stayed pretty active despite the cool weather and rain, and that activity included a workout, that, though only 20 minutes long, took DAYS for me to recover from. um, no joke. i haven't done a real sit-up since probably the presidential fitness test in elementary school. which i failed miserably. shocking, i know!
allison left for g-rap on thursday, and i played croquet for the first time in my life on thursday night. and lost. to a 67 year old. awesome. that does a real number on my whole self-concept that i'd spent the past 4 years so carefully building up. in an instant, on a summer evening's dewey grass to the tune of crickets' songs...GONE. who am i and why am i here?
jeff and mary showed up for the holiday on friday. and they brought their new....SNUGGIE. that's right, jeff is the proud new owner of the famous blanket with sleeves. but there's more... I WANT ONE NOW! seriously, the snuggie is ll it's crack'd up to be, all i'd imagined, AND MORE! i could read, without my arms geting cold. in a word? amazing.
that's no lie. if i'm anything, you should know by now, i'm a truthteller
[somewhat-related sidenote: allison, you really need to take care of those split ends. i noticed]
ok, so moving on to friday. i had a GREAT time reconnecting with kristin and abby. we spent the day getting fried on saugatuck's oval beach (known in some circles as one of the premier clothing-optional beaches in...michigan? the country? 'm not sure, but the closest we saw to nude was speedos on many a man) i came home from sauagatuck very much filled up from the good time we had just hanging out, catching up, laughing, reminsicing, and being together again. we even found a dead animal for abby to point at and take a picture. the saugatuck squirrel joins the ranks of some dead fish on the ludington beach, and some beheaded seal somewhere several years ago. abby, usually up to any challenge when it involves even a small payout, would not take me up on an offer to order "hotcakes" instead of "pancakes." off the menu. i even think i offered her a whole dollar. there are some words she just cannot be persuaded to say. but hotcakes? who would have thought....?
saturday was a run slash walk with leisa and fireworks on the beach. michigan summers are as near to perfection as you could imagine.
there's so much more i could tell you all, faithful friends, but my hands are kind of sick of typing. ii have some lofty academic goals for the rest of the evening, and plans to run 10 miles in the am, bright and early before it gets to be 90 degrees. yeehaw.
happy friday evening!
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