"Consider the Ravens..."

Lately, it seems every other blog post I write is about something I've cut out of my life.  That's not entirely on purpose, but with every change, God shows me things I want to share with you. A month ago I decided to cut dairy entirely out of my diet for at least a couple months. Yes, the girl who has a Pintrest board titled "For the Love of Cheese," has nixed all options for dairy.  Why?  Well... it's a long story that involves more questions than answers and a whole lot of doctors who say things like, "Well, maybe that's just how your body  works?  I don't know why... But you seem fine!"  But over the holidays, something had to give -- I was so sick of my symptoms, I thought maybe dairy was the culprit.  It's been four weeks and really, it's been a lot easier than I thought because 2/3 of my meals are the same every day: Eggs and bacon for breakfast, soup for lunch.  But I have SO struggled to give up creamer and enjoy my coffee.  I ...

I've done a lot of babysitting and childcare in my 30-ish years of life and regardless of location, ages, and family cultures, one thing has been a trend in every household: the littlest kids are always desperate to keep up with the big kids.  They HATE being left out!  Sometimes Copy Cat turns into a hilarious if not dangerous attempt to do exactly what the older sibling is doing.  I often try to guess what's going through the toddler's head as they try and fail and retry and kind of get it and then retry and it just isn't the same.  Character is revealed in these moments.  The kids who are more introspective and analytical will watch longer before reattempting, but those with shorter tempers are much more likely to scream and throw things by attempt number three. :)  And it seems that the more children there are in a family, the more desperate the younger ones become to keep up with the older ones.  The sense of being left out grows with every siblin...

The other night I woke up from a vivid dream.  It's unusual for me to dream at all and if I do, it's either directly related to something I'm experiencing (like feeling too warm in a dream because I'm too warm in real life) or it's because I'm under extreme stress.  This wasn't like that... I dreamed that a small crowd of people and I got on a smaller commercial airliner and took probably the shortest flight ever: straight up, level for just a moment, and then straight down to our destination which was not known to any of us.  We disembarked and walked into the airport, only to spend our entire trip at the airport gift shop.  None of us had specific things we were looking to buy, but all of us were browsing.  I settled on some small trinket and brought it to the register to pay.  The clerk took my money, and then instead of giving me exact change, handed me a couple thousand dollar bills in return.  I looked at her in disbelief which prompted her to ...

This year I decided I was finally going to do an Advent devotional for the month of December.  It's something I seem to forget about until mid-month and then the perfectionist in me doesn't want to do something half-way so I forego the whole experience.  But this year, I'm on it! I'm enjoying Ann Voskamp's "The Greatest Gift" devotional.  Advent celebrates the anticipated arrival of Jesus.  And even though the story line of Christmas morning is familiar, I'm seeing and experiencing Advent differently this year. Really, the point of Advent is to focus on the anticipated birth of Christ.  Anticipation is a funny thing. It's a wild card in our hand of emotions -- sometimes anticipation functions like excitement, sometimes like a pre-celebration, but sometimes it's the vehicle for anxiety.  And if you think about it, it's all made up -- anticipation is whatever we imagine it to be.  Experience informs our imagination, but we choose which th...

We're coming up on what many people consider to be "the most wonderful time of the year."  Here in Minnesota, we've had a few rounds of light snow but it hasn't stuck around just yet.  Nonetheless, the reminders are present: the holidays are on their way.  And with the holidays come a whole host of events, people, and opportunities unique to this season.  The commercials on TV portray households as being cozy and warm and decorated just perfectly.  We buy all kinds of fluffy things to battle the biting cold -- socks, sweaters, blankets... And for most people, at some point, we find ourselves thinking or saying, "I just love this time of year."  Why?  I think it makes us feel good.  We like the feeling of the holidays and the advertising companies know it.  Who can resist a good snuggle with a puppy or a baby while sitting by the fireplace with a twinkling Christmas tree as the only source of light?  Only the Grinch himself, I'd say. Bu...