The Star-Bellied Keeches

Grandpa Bud

2011-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

December 3, 2011 marks the day that my Grandpa Bud went to Heaven. His given name was Julius, but everyone called him Bud. He wasn't fond of being called Julius, so he always introduced himself, "My name's Bud. When you've said Bud, you've said it all." We think he got it from an old beer commercial.

Grandpa was a soft-spoken, tender-hearted & kind soul. He had a witty sense of humor and he was a hard working man. He adored my Grandma Ruth. They were married for 67 years. Can you imagine that? That's almost unheard of nowadays... He was the father to my dad, Dave, who went to Heaven on September 11, 2006. And if you know me at all, you know how much of a daddy's girl I am. I miss my Dad every single day. Grandpa was also Dad to my Aunts Carol & Darlene. He also had 9 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren.

Grandpa was a farmer for many years, but when he was done milking cows he became a custodian for Litchfield High School. He worked there for many years, where all the students also knew him as "Grandpa Bud". He was also a bowler, a dancer, a card player, and a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Grandpa never said anything that wasn't worth saying. When he opened his mouth, he either said something funny or something worth remembering, but he was pretty quiet most of the time. A lot of us could take a lesson from him in that... me included! I think my brother, Jay, is a lot like him in that way.

Things I remember about Grandpa: He always sat in a recliner in the living room, right by the picture window. There was a hexagon shaped end table next to the recliner, and it always had Grandpa's crossword puzzle books on it. He was awesome at crossword puzzles! I always loved when the grown ups went into the kitchen to play pinochle so I might be able to sit in Grandpa's chair. But if he came back in the room, I knew to move because it was HIS chair!

When my family used to spend weekends on the farm, we always got a good home cooked breakfast before church on Sunday morning. Grandma would bustle to-and-fro around the kitchen, but not Grandpa. He always sat in the same chair at the kitchen table and he made the toast. Grandpa Bud made great toast! He made other cool things, too -- lots of needlepoint crafts and picture frames.

Every Easter my brother and I had an epic Easter egg hunt all over the farmhouse. Grandpa & Grandma would fill up tons of plastic eggs with loose change and they'd hide them all around their house. We probably never found more than $5.00 worth of change, but we loved hunting for them so much! And every Summer, we had huge family picnics at the farm.

Grandpa Bud's funeral was yesterday. The Honor Guard paid their respects for the time he spent serving our country by giving him a 21 gun salute. The church service was held at the same church that Jason & I made our vows. Also where he & Grandma made theirs, and my Great-Grandparents, too.

Grandpa was a God-fearing man. He had been a Christian for many years. So I know without a doubt that my Grandpa Bud is in Heaven with Jesus. He was also the first person who ever told Jason that he should be a Pastor, which I think is pretty cool. I know I'm biased, but Jason is a great Pastor!

Yesterday when my cousin, Corey, stood to read the eulogy at Grandpa's funeral, he talked about 2 of Grandpa's favorite sayings:

The first saying: "Not to worry." Grandpa Bud always used to say "Not to worry." This describes his character perfectly. A calm man without worries. It didn't hit me until yesterday how much faith it takes to consistently make a statement like that. "Not to worry." But Jesus said it, too:

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:34

The second saying: "That's no hill for a climber." Hmmm... can't say I ever actually heard Grandpa say this, but lots of others remembered him saying it. So while we were driving home, Jason & I were talking about what it could mean. I thought it must have something to do with perseverance; to keep on climbing. And that phrase just kept running through my head last night... "That's no hill for a climber." This morning I decided I had to Google it, and I found these song lyrics:

We're always facing battles and it's hard to keep the pace
'Cause Satan never lets up in his fight for winning place,
But I have the Lord to guide me every step along the way,
So when Satan comes against me you can always hear me say

That's no hill for a climber, that's no battle for a child of God.
Satan's already been defeated and the victory's been won.
Jesus won the fight on Calvary when he died for you and me,
Now Satan get behind me 'cause I claim the victory.

Every time I try to do a little something for the Lord,
Satan tries to block my path and keep me from my goal,
But I don't care how high the hills may seem to me today,
I'll take my savior by the hand and he'll help me when I say

That's no hill for a climber, that's no battle for a child of God.
Satan's already been defeated and the victory's been won.
Jesus won the fight on Calvary when he died for you and me,
Now Satan get behind me 'cause I claim the victory.

Oh wow -- I feel like I got one last, incredible lesson from my Grandpa Bud, and it was sent straight from Heaven. You see, my Grandpa knew he was a child of God and that Jesus has already fought & won the battle. And there have been many days when I feel like I'm trying to do something for God and am distracted by His enemy.

Did you know that the road to Calvary is a hill? Yes, Jesus walked UPHILL, carrying his OWN cross, on the way to be crucified for OUR sins. Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."

Jesus said that to ME! I am a Christian--someone who has chosen to live my life for Jesus. I am to deny myself, and to walk with Jesus UPHILL! Every single day isn't going to be easy. And I'm still going to have battles. But I am a child of God! And I am a climber! And I know Jesus already won my battles & my life at the cross. And yours, too, if you choose to accept Him.

Looking back on Grandpa's personality, his soft-spoken nature, his easy-going attitude, I now know where he got all his strength from: JESUS. Him saying "Not to worry...", him loving us all so well, a whole roomful of people paying their respects with nothing but great things to say about him... all of it. It came from the Holy Spirit living inside him and it came from the way he walked by FAITH.

I may have just found my new favorite saying... "That's no hill for a climber."
Thanks, Grandpa Bud. I will never forget you! 'Til we meet again...

Hurts, Habits & Hang-Ups

2011-06-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

So I'm in my bathroom this morning putting on my makeup. I'm in full-blown "applying your mascara so open your mouth really wide" mode (ladies, why do we do this?)... and these 3 words pop into my head: Hurts. Habits. Hang-Ups.

These are the words that we use to describe anyone who should think about attending Crossing Recovery. Anyone is welcome! Anyone with hurts, habits, or hang-ups! YAY!

But then I really started thinking about that word: HURTS. What does it mean?

Does it hurt when you stub your toe? Yes.
Does that pain last a long time? Not so much.

When we talk about hurts at CR, we're talking about more than: "I fell off my tricycle and skinned my knee. Can you please give me a band-aid?". We are talking about hurts that last a long time. Hurts that some people have never talked about with ANYONE before.

In the five years since CR was launched, I have heard stories of hurt that would make your worst nightmare look like a circus in a candy shop on a unicorn. (Sorry, couldn't think of a good analogy to put here...)

Stories like:

· I lost my job, so I seek solace in the bottom of a bottle.

· I lost custody of my kids because of my meth addiction.

· My husband pushed me down a flight of stairs because I said something that pissed him off.

· I’m facing jail time because of another DWI or a possession charge.

· I was just diagnosed with diabetes, or cancer, or heart disease as a direct result of overeating.

· I am losing my house because I gambled all my money away.

· I was so engrossed looking at internet porn trying to find love & connection with people that I have lost every person who cared about me in real life.

· I’m getting divorced because my spouse can’t stand for one more minute to be married to the person I have become.

· I’ve been abused, molested, raped, and thrown away.

And it doesn't end there....

BUT! I've also heard incredible stories of redemption, life change, hope & freedom! And they all come from people who have decided to follow Jesus. HE HEALS THE HURT!

Think about that word again: HURT. Let it sink in.

If you know someone -- or if you are someone -- who needs a way out of the hurt, I urge you to check out a CR meeting sometime! Give it a shot! What can it hurt?

Thoughts about Fasting

2011-03-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

This week The Crossing is doing a 7 day fast for The Code of the Samurai. We are praying about what God specifically wants to do with our church. This is Day 4 for me of liquids only. I am currently enjoying (sarcasm) a fruit smoothie (again). So if this blog post seems a little bit rambly & nonsensical, you know why.

When we first started this fast on Sunday, Jason & I had decided to do liquid fast through Wednesday, then start a Daniel Fast of fruits, veggies, seeds & nuts on Thursday. On Tuesday I was SOOOO wishing I could EAT something. Just to chew on something & not drink it through a straw would have been amazing. Then yesterday in Staff Meeting, God talked to me through Pastor Eric, and I felt like He was strongly telling me to keep doing liquids the whole week through because He still had things to tell me. And I also had the thought that if God was already beginning to tell me stuff while I was doing the liquid thing, why would I want to back out & not keep listening? So, I texted Jason & told him I was only doing liquids the whole week through. I almost laughed out loud when he texted back, "Really? Me too."

Then this morning, I woke up & read my Bible. After reading just one chapter, I wrote a 3 page outline for a whole talk I can give at Crossing Recovery. What God was telling me was incredible.

Here's some other random thoughts I had on the drive to work this morning:

Make a list of specific prayers when you fast. If you are trying to ask God everything you've ever wanted to ask Him in a one week period of time, you aren't going to get any clarity at all. Focus on one or two things to pray about at a time. If God talks to you about those things & gives you understanding about them, pray about something else. But don't pray 5 bajillion things & be all over the place with your prayers.
Read your Bible. Read your Bible. Read your Bible. That is the way God speaks most clearly! Jesus spent 40 days in the desert with NO food & NO water (smoothie fast not so bad now, is it?)! When Satan tempted Him, He used Scripture to overcome it. Excuse my French, but what in the hell (or what from hell) makes you think you can fast & overcome temptation without reading your Bible? If Jesus can't do it, neither can you.

Rambling Sidenote: I woke up at 1 o'clock in the morning last night with the worst heartburn ever. It's from not having any solids in my stomach to absorb the liquid. My immediate thought is that I really COULD switch to Daniel Fast if I wanted to. I could go down to the kitchen & find something "legal" to eat. It WAS after midnight after all. Those thoughts come from the enemy & I had to shout them down with the truth of scripture & prayer.

And one more: Fasting alone sucks. Fasting with other people rules. That's all.

Food is not my problem

2011-01-18T10:54:00.000-08:00

My problem is not food.

It’s not ice cream or French fries or even Chipotle… my problem is that I use food to deal with my emotions. My problem is that I have an unhealthy desire to eat when I’m not hungry. And I would guess any alcoholic or drug addict when you get right down to the core of how they ended up as an addict is that they use their drug of choice to deal with their emotions & that they have unhealthy desires to use. What it all really comes down to is disobedience. God designed our bodies to function a certain way. He created me to need a certain amount of food to operate. The fact that I want more than that, and that I frequently cave in to the cravings is what my problem really is.

This is why I go to Crossing Recovery. I hear a lot of people say they think CR is just for drug addicts & alcoholics, so I just wanted to set the record straight. CR is for anybody with a hurt, habit or hangup. My hangup happens to be my disobedience with food. What is YOUR hangup? What do you need to CHANGE?

How does CR help me?

#1: At CR I learn or am reminded of the fact that I don’t have to stop overeating by my own sheer willpower. I remember that there’s a God who is wiser, bigger, and more powerful than anything I can ever dream of being & that when I tap into HIS will for my life, things get better, and my desire to overeat is lessened. So instead of trying to live by my own willpower, I am living out God’s will. You should try it. It'll change your life.

And #2: I've learned to work the 12 Steps. They help me make better choices. It's crazy awesome having them pop into my head the moment I’m about to make the wrong move. For example, I could be craving (and a craving for me is the biggest moment of temptation…) a McDonald’s breakfast sandwich. And because I’ve been coming to CR I’ll all of a sudden remember (*DING* lightbulb moment) that eating more fast food is just a cycle of insanity. Each time I do it I’m expecting a different result. So I admit that I am powerless over this desire to overeat (which is Step 1)… PLUS the 12 steps have helped me to figure out why I have this desire in the first place, and help me figure out how to deal with emotions other than eating.

Now, why am I telling you all of this? Simple. Because I know there are a whole lot of people out there who need to be reached with the truth of Jesus & the tools of the 12 Steps. The scope of the amount of people that need help with their hurts, habits & hangups is SO MUCH MORE than an alcoholic or a drug addict (although we really want to see them, too!). I want to see a whole bunch of food addicts & sex addicts & gambling addicts & codependents start to make a real change. Crossing Recovery can help them do it.

Monday nights at the Princeton Party House or Thursday nights at the Elk River Crossing campus. 5:30 potluck dinner, 6:00 meeting. Childcare provided. See you there?

Love & Marriage

2010-12-29T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today, Jason had a chance to talk to a friend about some of the marriage problems he & his wife are going through right now. It led us into an awesome discussion about how we've dealt with situations that were less-than-perfect in our own marriage. Every marriage has its ups & downs, and ours is no exception. Now, nothing ever happened to us that was completely earth-shatteringly devastating, but it hasn't always been perfect, either.

First thing I've gotta tell you is: We were not Christians when we got married. We didn't go to church. We weren't praying people. We didn't have any friends who were Jesus followers. Nada. Jason had a church background, but I really didn't so much. So, God just was not the center of our marriage until about 7 years ago. Right now I think we both would say our faith is why our marriage is so strong. We have learned to put our relationship with each other first before any other human relationship. And we learned this principle in church. The Bible has a fully laid-out plan for your life & mine and it tells us the priorities of our relationships. It goes God first, spouse 2nd, kids 3rd, everything else after that. The Bible also tells us we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. So, God is our glue. He holds us together.

Second thing is this: We have a rule about not giving up on each other. Remember how I told you we haven't always been Christians? Yep. Well, the first 5 or 6 years of our marriage we had more than a few arguments. These fights were always about stupid stuff. Things everyone seems to argue about. Kids, money, chores... junk that doesn't really matter. (I personally think most of those arguments happened in the early years of our marriage because we weren't submitting to one another & both of us cared too much about ourselves to put the other one first.) But here's the deal: We had this rule about not ever bringing up the "D" word (y'know... divorce). Even speaking that word to one another was never allowed. It's just not OK to give up on the person that you're supposed to love the most. I think every marriage should have this rule.

Third: I had an amazing example to follow. My parents were married for 36 years until my dad passed away. I cannot remember ever once seeing my folks fight with one another. They loved each other so unconditionally it is crazy. I was a very rebellious teenager, and I remember one time making a not-so-nice comment to my mom. I thought my dad was gonna go through the roof! Nobody disrespected his wife. Nobody. He adored her, and the whole world knew it. Likewise, mom always told me she didn't keep secrets from dad. See, when I screwed up (which I did a lot), I always told mom first. She wasn't as scary to admit stuff to as dad was. I was always afraid of disappointing him. But I still remember her telling me that anything I ever told her she would tell him. He was her most important human relationship, that much was clear. Growing up in a household with such a strong marriage as an example taught me so much about how to love my husband. And I just have to say, your kids are learning how to love their future spouse by watching you just like I learned by watching my folks. Will your kids have great marriages because of the way they see you treat & love your husband or wife? I hope my kids do!

Lastly, never take your spouse for granted. I thank God every day for bringing Jason into my life. I can't imagine life without him!! If you're married, take some time every day to acknowledge how blessed you are to have someone to walk through life with. A blessing is a gift from God -- treat that person as such.

Just felt like I needed to write this stuff down. Hopefully it'll encourage someone to love the best way they can!

Thoughts about Food & Self-Control

2010-12-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

So, I've been making some semblance of progress on this food battle I always seem to be fighting. I've been losing weight -- YAY!!

I think it's because I'm actually paying attention to my body. Before I eat, I ask myself if I'm actually hungry or if I'm eating for another reason. Sounds simple, I know, but when you eat out of boredom or as a reaction to an emotion, you just don't think about the fact that you might not really be hungry because you are only thinking about the immediate gratification the food is going to provide. Plus, you aren't really relying on God to provide the food when you will feel hungry. You are just taking matters into your own hands & giving in to your physical desires. Not to be crass, but it's basically like gratifying yourself sexually instead of waiting for God to provide a spouse for you to get busy with.

I know it seems like it's not really a big deal to eat whenever you feel like it. I mean, you are the one who's going to have to deal with the "weight" of that issue. I mean, if you've got an extra 20 lbs. because of your late-night ice cream habit whose business is it anyway? But, it's so much more than that. It's about the fact that in that moment of eating "just because", I completely lack self-control.

Galatians 5:22 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..."

And it goes on to say that I, as a Christ-follower, am to "keep in step with the Spirit".

So, in an effort to keep in step with the Spirit & to live out the part of my faith that includes the fruit of self-control, I am making stronger commitments than I have in a while when it comes to the food thing. I have been cutting down my portions (really, who even NEEDS restaurant-sized portions?), curbing the late-night eating, and I've recommitted myself to the spiritual discipline of fasting once a week. But I think the key is that in being self-controlled I feel closer to God than I have in a long time. And that's a bigger reward than anything the scale could ever tell me.

Here's to keeping in step with the Spirit! Pray for me!

2010-07-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

This blog is a little peek into my "quiet time" for the past week. Hopefully it'll help someone as it has helped me.

"...You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." -Micah 7:18 (NIV)

Read that again. God delights to show mercy. Do you?
I know I don't always jump at the chance to be merciful. In fact, I usually think to myself something along the lines of, "Wow, that person sure is lucky that I'm showing them a little mercy right now. If I wanted to, I could totally rip them a new one." Or, I will "forgive" someone, but never truly let the grudge go.

For example, here's what happened to me yesterday:
Scenario #1:
I went to Office Max. I didn't bother with a cart, just thought I'd make a quick trip in. So, I'm standing at the checkout, juggling an armload of stuff & waiting for the person in front of me. All of a sudden, 'Mr. Rude' comes out of nowhere and totally cuts me off in line! Did I say anything? Nope. I'm merciful, right? Evidently, this "gentlemen" has a busier schedule than me, so I let it go.

Scenario #2:
I follow up my Office Max trip with a stop at the dreaded post office. (I mean, have you ever had to stand in line at the post office? Bleccchhh.) I'm walking in, and this lady comes swooping in from the other direction and scoots her way in front of me without giving me a 2nd glance. Ugh! Twice in one day I get cut off in standing in line within 30 minutes of each other? Grrrrr... Do I say anything to said lady? No. See reason above.

Scenario #3:
I was cut off in traffic by a big freakin' truck while I'm driving in my little Ford Escort 4-cylinder glorified Go-Kart (on a gravel road in a construction zone with my kids in the car, to add a few more things to be pissed about and not-so-merciful).

Am I ever like God, who actually finds it a delight to show mercy? I mean, when you are showing mercy, doesn't that mean someone has wronged you somehow? How can we delight in that? We've all heard the saying "forgive, but not forget", but what if being merciful means you have to completely wipe the "wrongs" from your memory? Maybe you can't forgive until you forget.

Psalm 103:12 says this is how God shows mercy to us: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

In other words, He forgets our transgressions! How does He do it? I choose to think it's through a LOVE we cannot comprehend. See, Jesus LOVES us MORE than we can fathom, and He proved it by dying for us.

"It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people..."
-Hebrews 10:14 (The Message)

God knows we are imperfect. He knows we will fail time & time again, and we will do things without thinking about them, or caring how our actions affect other people. He knows that some days I'm the rude lady at the post office. And He shows me mercy even when I am unmerciful toward others. The next time you run across another imperfect person who needs your forgiveness, maybe you should try doing what God does... and just fuhgeddabouddit.

2010-07-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking a lot lately about the fact that life is short. Probably because I just heard this awesome talk about it during the first week of The Crossing's MIST series. I know I need to get back on track with eating healthy and exercising. It's been too long. Too many excuses. Too many "I'll start tomorrow's". There are things I want to accomplish and, if I'm honest about it, these things are not going to be as easy to do if I remain the way I am right now.

This whole series is based off of this scripture:
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
-James 4:13-17

OUCH! Did you read what that just said? Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. We do not know if we have tomorrow. I don't know the future and neither do you. I want to live my life to the FULLEST while I'm here. That means no more of this waiting-around-being-lazy-waiting-for-my-problem-to-take-care-of-itself stuff. I KNOW the good I ought to do. I'm just not doing it. Until now. I can start right this minute. So can you! Do you know something you ought to be doing that you aren't doing? Maybe you should make a budget. Call someone up and apologize. Forgive someone you're holding a grudge against. Brush your teeth. I don't know what your "thing" is, but I know we've all got a "thing". You aren't guaranteed tomorrow. Don't waste your life, for you are a mist.

2010-05-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

Y'know how you have things you can say only to your spouse? How you will word things when it's just the two of you talking? If you and your spouse are in a room with other people, you will probably adjust some of the things you say. In private, it's no holds barred. You're just REAL.

It's the same with prayer. Praying at Small Group or for someone else aloud isn't BAD, but our Father also wants us to pray in secret -- no holds barred -- just Him & you, being REAL.

I was just reminded of that thought. It's not original or anything -- Jason heard it somewhere. Even so, I've looked at prayer differently ever since I heard it.

Be REAL with God today. Tell Him what you're thinking and feeling. Ask Him for the things you need. Thank Him for what He's already given you. Don't hold back. Don't make your words all churchy and perfect. Just be yourself. And know that He loves you just the way He made you.

2010-04-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! It's finally Easter weekend! We've been uber-busy trying to get everything ready at The Crossing for people to have their minds blown with the awesomeness of God this weekend. Let me just explain something for those of you who've never been to a church that would give away cars (yes, 3 of them) just to get people in the door. Why do we care? Why do we care about getting so many people to show up to a church service? People = LIVES! Do you know anyone who needs a change in their life? They party too much, are dealing with an addiction that is tearing them apart, are going through a horrible divorce, are struggling with losing a loved one? Maybe that person is you. See, I don't know what you think about God. I believe He's real and doesn't care about your past junk. He knows how screwed up & broken we all are & He just wants us to do life with Him.

Over the past 5 years, I have watched God change HUNDREDS of lives at The Crossing. Literally, HUNDREDS! Including my life. I know people don't always understand the way we go about reaching people. I know lots of people have an idea in their head about how church is "supposed to be". Like, we're not "supposed to" play loud rock music, like Aerosmith. Or, we're not "supposed to" wear ripped jeans to church. Or we're not "supposed to" have FUN at church. We're "supposed to" be solemn and serious and bored to death at church, right? I think it's funny how for over 2,000 years people have had this idea of how church is "supposed to be". The Apostle Paul was constantly trying to explain to people that God doesn't care about rules or rituals. People haven't changed. Not in 2,000 years! GOD STILL DOESN'T CARE ABOUT RULES & RITUALS. Isn't that cool?

I read this passage this morning:
Does it sound like we're patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we're not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you. You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it -- not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives -- and we publish it. (I think of all the people who've been reached in an unconventional, non-churchy way...)

We couldn't be more sure of ourselves in this -- that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation. We wouldn't think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter. His letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of action. The plan wasn't written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of legal footnotes, killing your spirit. It's written with Spirit on spirit, his life on our lives!
-2 Cor 3:1-6 (The Message)

So I will stay on The Crossing's mission to move seekers one step closer to a real relationship with Jesus and to thrill believers with spiritual truths of an awe-inspiring God. Know why? 'Cause God is at work at The Crossing, people. God is changing lives there. And it might not be the way it's "supposed to be". And that's OK.

2010-01-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

So, I'm reading this awesome new book called "The Me I Want To Be" by John Ortberg. I know, the title sounds like something Stuart Smalley would say (see old Al Franken clips from SNL if you don't know what I mean...). But the book is really good so far! He's talking about how God has created each of us for a specific purpose, and if we lean into that, we will have peace & contentment. I don't know about you, but I really struggle with trying to be what people think I should be. Or I fight to become like other people are. But God created me to be Tracy. Even with my all of my many flaws, He loves me & made me this way. Don't get me wrong -- I don't think I should become lazy & forget about trying to improve myself. I want to lose weight, be more generous, more graceful, less angry, and I think God wants all of those things for me, too. I think what He's trying to tell me lately is that I can be confident in His perfect love for me. And, ultimately, the "me I want to be" is a me that is fully aware of how unconditionally loved I am by my Creator.

A blog for the new year!

2010-01-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

OK, so it has come to my attention that, lo & behold, people are actually reading this thing. And I haven't posted anything in over a year! It's a new year now. Heck, it's a new DECADE! So, in honor of 2010, here's a blog post for ya'll!

Here's some stuff I thought would be happening by the 21st century (in no particular order):

1) Flying cars. What the? Why don't we have these yet? Seriously!! Even the 2nd Back to the Future movie had hover-cars. (And those Pizza Hut pizzas that you nuke in like 4 seconds). I think someone needs to make this happen. Like Bill Gates or Google or somebody.

2) Robots. The Jetsons had one. She cooked. She cleaned. She fed Rastro (er, I mean, Astro). I want one. iPhone, no. Robots, yes!

3) Houses in the sky. Speaking of the Jetsons... Need I say more? OK, really though, I wouldn't really care to live in a house in the sky. Except for the not-mowing-the-lawn part. That would be cool.

However, God has blessed me with an amazing family, a fantastic group of friends and an incredible opportunity to change the world one person at a time through my job, and that shall be enough for me.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Random stuff....

2008-10-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it's been awhile since I decided to post, huh? I'm not very good at keeping up with this blogging thing. Must be spending too much time on Facebook playing Scramble ((sigh)). But, alas, here I am and here's what's going on in Keech-land:

We've been very busy lately with church events (as usual). Our new small group launched two weeks ago and we couldn't be happier! We had 22 adults show up the first night along with boatloads of kids. I'm excited for this new group. Excited to see where God's gonna take us. I really pictured "doing life" in a small group with people who are laid back and fun. I really think God brought like-minded people to our group. Right off the bat I was like, "Well, most of us have kids and that means we're going to have interruptions. That's OK! I "do life" with my kids, so "doing life" with other people means my kids are included." I am SOOO happy to be part of a small group that I don't have to a) find a babysitter to attend or b) have to be completely paranoid that my kids (from time to time) act like KIDS! So, yay!! By golly, I think we've got it!

Another church event we did recently was walk in the Elk River Homecoming Parade. Connor rode his scooter in the parade, doing tricks all along the route (jumping his scooter up onto curbs to pass out invite cards). I look at him lately and he sure doesn't look like a little boy anymore. It's so weird that he's 10 and teenage-hood is approaching so quickly. He's very independent and smart. Maddy had a blast passing out candy to everyone with her friends. She was so busy making sure EVERY person got a piece of candy that, at times, we found ourselves a couple of floats behind the rest of the group. So then I'd yell, "RUN!! We gotta catch up!". One of these times she ran full speed ahead and tripped, her legs and arms sprawled out on the pavement. She only cried momentarily and kept on moving. Now THAT's when you know she was having fun. Because for Maddy not to "milk" an injury is a complete miracle!

Here's Maddy with her friends, Zach & Aidan:

Camping '08

2008-08-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we had fun this week going camping up by Remer. We go every year with some friends of ours just to chill out. It's so nice to be out of cell phone range, email range, and everyday life range. It forces you to set your mind on living in the moment - and I love it!! The guys did a ton of fishing, and us ladies played a lot of Phase 10. I even caught a nice bass on Tuesday morning before we left :). Then, as you can see in the picture, I held it like a girl. Forgive the way I look in these photos. We were roughing it. Like no-running-water-gotta-pee-in-the-outhouse-for-2-days roughing it. Consider yourself lucky my blog isn't scratch n' sniff.

Kalahari

2008-07-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Just posting a few fun pics from our 4th of July weekend in Wisconsin Dells. We went with my brother, Jay's, family and my mom. The first is the view from our hotel room. Waterpark Heaven!! We had a relaxing time. It was nice not to be running here and there, so we primarily stayed at the Waterpark. We did take a trip to the Timbavati Wildlife Park and the Wisconsin Deer Park, though. That was pretty cool.

Do I have to come up with a title? That's too much pressure.

2008-06-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

So, here I am trying out this blogging thing once more. Jason is fishing, Connor is watching TV, and I just got Maddy a "granilla" bar, so she should be able to sit tight for a few minutes.

So, the Keech family has had a pretty eventful weekend. Friday night we hung out with Eric and Kelly and the kids. Not really doing much, but Kelly and I went to a Pampered Chef party while the guys watched the kids. I say we should have taken advantage of the fact that we were husband and kid-less and gone out for karaoke or something, but we behaved ourselves.

Then, yesterday morning we got up what we deem as "early" for us (especially on a Saturday morning!) around 9:00 am. We drove out to Elk River to pick up Connor and his buddy, Braden, and met a bunch of folks from church to pack food at this cool place in Brooklyn Park. Feed My Starving Children packs up food for (duh...) hungry kids all around the world.

Here's a picture of all of us:

I'm sort of in the middle, Maddy and Connor are right up in front. Jason's the tall one in the back. We look awesome in our hair nets, don't we??

The actual food-packing time went by super fast. I totally want to do something like this again. We had fun, and I think it made an impact on the way my kids view the world a little bit. I feel like it's our responsibility to take care of people who can't take care of themselves. It's heartbreaking to watch the videos of these little kids who are eating dirt balls just to stave off their hunger. Turning a blind eye to it only makes the problem worse and results in more kids dying, so I feel like I need to get off my duff some more and get involved! Anyone wanna join me?

This morning we went to church and when we got home I took a long, glorious nap. I'm trying to get a ton of laundry done before we go to Wisconsin Dells next weekend. Until next post!!

2008-06-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

OK, I'll take the plunge and jump in to the "blog world". Don't know how much or how often I'll post here, but I'll try to be entertaining :).

Today I worked until about 1:30 and then took the kids to Twin Lakes Beach to meet my friend Jess and three of her kids. We had a blast. Even remembered to re-apply sunscreen (way to go, mom!!). Connor and Maddy love being in the water. Now we just have to get them to know how to swim. I'll post some pics later.

What can I say? This is my first post!!