Role Models 3

Another fabulous role model of mine is a lady who I call Ms. Terre.  Ms. Terre is the wife of our crazy missions and recreation pastor (also my former middle school leader), and she is just one of those people.


You know what I mean.


One of those people that just instantly put you at ease, who you know innately understands what you're going through, who really means it when she asks how you're doing.


Every time I see her, I scamper over for an enormous hug; she asks me how school's going, how friends are doing, how family's doing, how I'm doing.  And no matter what - whether I said that everything is peachy keen or that my life is falling apart - she tells me that she'll be praying for me.


The best part?


I know she really does!  On tough days God often lets me run into her, and I'm so thankful that she is in my life.  Without her, I would be stressed out, knee-deep in snickers bars, and definitely not as close to God.  She is a great example to me!  I love you Ms. Terre!

Wish

This is where I bare my soul.

When people ask the question, "What would you do with a million dollars, Ryley?" I inevitably think of thousands of ways I could use the money to help people. Take care of a hard-working but poor family's major financial needs; build a hospital in Guate and send excellent physicians and nurses to work in it; feed hungry children; send out missionaries; cover all the grocery bills for a single mom; on and on and on! A million dollars! It could help so many people, it boggles my mind!

But there's always a little part of me, the selfish little goblin part, that thinks things like,

A million dollars?

That's a lot of shoes.

Or

Front-row, 50-yard-line season tickets to UT football games? Yes please.

But most of all, I have always, always, always...

...wanted an iced tea pool.

Let me clarify here:

I love iced tea. It's my favorite drink. Black tea, unsweet, lots of ice, lemon slice, two sweet 'n lows. Can I get an amen?

I also love swimming.

I attribute both of these things largely to the fact that I live in Austin, Texas, and it's really hot here. Really, really hot. So a while back, I got to thinking.

If iced tea and swimming are the most refreshing parts of my central Texas summers, then wouldn't it be efficient - and fun - to combine the two? Double the refreshment, people, double the refreshment.

When I proposed this idea to my family, however, they replied,

"Sick."

I explained that I would shower completely before jumping in, so I wasn't drinking foot nasty and armpit gunk. Once I was completely sanitary, I would dive in to my pool and swim and play and enjoy all the activities I would in a normal, boring old pool. The difference is that when I'm, say, perfecting my cannonball and think,

"My, I'm feeling a bit thirsty!"

I can savor a long, cool drink of tea without ever breaking concentration or wasting energy that could be used to propel myself from the diving board. While I'm lounging on a pool float and want a beverage to go with my R&R, there's no need to go inside and waste precious time - I'll just lean over and suck up some tea! Sheer brilliance! Just imagine the hours of satisfying merriment!

Sadly, I feel certain that this dream will most likely go unfulfilled even if I do stumble across a vault filled with a million dollars, since my original, people-helping ideas probably line up with God's more than a swimming pool filled with my favorite drink.

But if I stumble across more than one vault?

Tea pool for Ryley.

Anticipation

Productivity
pro·duc·tiv·i·ty (prō'dŭk-tĭv'ĭ-tē, prŏd'ək-):
-n.
1. The quality of being productive.

Productive
pro·duc·tive [pruh-duhk-tiv]:
–adjective
1. Having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort.

Energize
en·er·gize [en-er-jahyz], verb,-gized, -giz·ing:
-verb (used with object)
1. To give energy to; rouse into activity

–verb (used without object)
2. To be in operation; put forth energy.


Purpose
pur·pose (pûr'pəs):
n.
1. The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal
2. A result or effect that is intended or desired; an intention.
3. Determination; resolution

Purposeful
pur·pose·ful [pur-puhs-fuhl]:
–adjective
1. Having a purpose.
2. Determined; resolute.
3. Full of meaning; significant.

Ever wake up wanting to sieze the day, have adventures, cross everything off your checklists, take the world by storm, change a life, and live abundantly? Today, I woke up feeling like that. The first thing I did this morning was go through the world clock on my cell phone and see what time it was in every imaginable place, just to tickle my imagination. I tried to guess what the people in each place were up to; I always assumed they were busy, purposeful, and taking opportunities readily. Then I realized that it was gorgeous outside, and bang!

Bit by the antsy bug.

So I'll do my best to let you know later on just how I channel all of this ambition today. Hope everyone has a happy thursday!

Flower Pots

We're getting ready to sell our house.



We've been beautifying it so that people will love it!



A few days ago our realtor dropped off some flower pots that are a gorgeous shade of turquoise.



I liked them so much that I decided to take pictures of them, along with some of the other plants, including the summerlong basil I'm attempting to grow from seed right now. Wish me luck!



Happy Mama's Day to all.

Happy Mother's Day! (Role Models 2)

I don't know how to even begin telling you how wonderful my mom is. I could go on for days. I'll try and touch on some of my favorite things about her.

My mom puts her family and home before everything else except God. She takes time for all of us, and knows me like the back of her hand. Our house is clean, comfortable, and inviting. We have food in our pantry and fridge. She welcomes in friends and family readily; hospitality is one of her many gifts, in my opinion. Most of all, our house is full of love.

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her." Proverbs 31:28

Moms probably have one of the hardest and most thankless jobs out there, but my mom hardly ever complains. She says she loves what she does, and wouldn't trade being with her kids for any job in the world. I love her for being taxi driver, chef, accountant, housekeeper, counselor, doctor, teacher, organizer, toy-picker-upper, lunch maker, homework signer, laundry-doer, etc that she is. Without her, the rest of us would curl up in the fetal position and eat hot pockets until we suffocated in dirty socks.

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

My mom is beautiful. She really is. Everyone says it about their mothers, because they have to. I, however, truly have one of the most beautiful women on the planet for a mom. She has wavy hair and blue eyes, her make up is always flawless and sophisticated, and she has the BEST clothes. She looks like she's walked off the pages of a catalogue or magazine. Best of all, she is comfortable in her own skin.

"...she is clothed in fine linen and purple." Proverbs 31:22b

Mom is an avid bookworm. She's always reading something. She loves eighties and big band music, but also enjoys some Owl City, Switchfoot, and Train here and there. :) I found her eating lemon icebox pie for breakfast a few weeks ago. The expression on her face when I caught her - fork halfway in mouth, crumbs on her chin, eyes wide - was priceless. When she laughs, she throws her head back and squishes up her eyes and laughs with her mouth wide open. I have yet to see her keep any plant alive for longer than a week and a half. She's a neatnik. She hates - I mean, hates - camping of any kind. Disney Channel marathon? Mom is up for it. A Sonic Diet Dr. Pepper with Vanilla is her drink of choice, and she has a great Texas accent. My mom is fantastically unique.

"She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10b

Best of all, my mom is a true woman of God. She stands unbelievably strong in the face of adversities that would cause most women to break down or run for the nearest exit. She always has a word of practical advice for me and my friends. She is wise, caring, and loving. We get along like peanut butter and jelly, and I can only hope that I will turn out to be at least a little like her!

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you bunches and bunches.

"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:29-30

Little Things

The little things in life make a big difference in my day.

Yummy waffles courtesy of Aunt Jemima? Good day.

Unexpected quiz in chemistry? Not so much.

Buying basil seeds at Lowes? Joy in a little bitty package.

Straight hair that refuses to do anything except fly-away? Utter frustration. That follows you wherever you go.

It's interesting to log, even for a small amount of time, how much the tiny things impact your overall day. It really helps to put things in perspective.

Role Models 1

I'm going to do a series of posts on the fantastic women in my life that serve as role models for me. The topic has been on my mind for a while and I figured, why not? Before I get started, I want to note that I am not doing posts on these women based on their importance to and/or influence on me. That is, I'm not ranking them by best role model, next best, and the next best after that, etc. Each plays a unique part in my life, so I'm just writing about them randomly! Here we go...

My youth pastor's wife, Liz, is one of my favorite people. I don't see her all that often, but every time I spend time with her or even just have a brief conversation with her I come away feeling a little more content, a little more patient, and a little wiser! I think the thing I love most about her is that she absolutely feels called to be a wife and mom first. Her ultimate passion is to create a loving, safe, and comfortable home for her husband and kids. And from what I can tell, she enjoys it! Their house is always so, well, homey; her kids are happy and obviously love her. She clearly displays the fruit of the spirit as a wife, and I want to follow her example in that area later on in life. (Plus, that just rhymed. So... epic win.) Don't get the idea that she's June Cleaver here, though. Liz lets all of us bizarre teenagers into her house to watch movies, eat cookie dough, sling sprinkles around her kitchen, and just hang out. Jeremy (my youth pastor) jokes that her love language is trash talking, and she has a great sense of humor. She's a strong woman.

Liz always has a listening ear for the girls in the youth group. There have been multiple occasions on which I've turned to her for good advice, and she hasn't failed me yet! In fact, just yesterday I emailed her about a tough situation I'm facing at school and she responded, as usual, with a loving, firm and practical suggestion. It means more than she'll probably ever know that she's there for me!

Conversations Like Currents

I had a revelation yesterday that I hope you'll enjoy.

Recently, a close friend of mine went through a hard time - her dad died unexpectedly of a heart attack. My heart went out to her; I can't even imagine the pain she must have felt and must still feel. However, it has been over a week now since his death and she is doing much better, so a group of girls from church including myself went to her apartment to visit and take her lots of junk food.

We arrived at her abode and bestowed our gifts - pizzas, chocolate chip cookies, candy, cake, and cheetos - before settling in to talk for a while. Her family was in the kitchen next to us; because she is African-American, her family was speaking mostly the-language-you-speak-in-Ethiopia-that-I-do-not-know-the-name-of-though-find-fascinating-and-very-cool.

At any rate, I paused for a few minutes and sat on the couch and just listened to all the different conversations going on around me. Conversations weaving over heads and around people, conversations between two people huddled together, conversations in a foreign language, loud conversations, quiet conversations. It sounded all together like rain falling on a roof; so many different sounds, sizes, and shapes of speech all falling from lips at the same time.

That's when I realized that conversations are like the ocean currents in Finding Nemo.

Remember? For Dory and Marlin to get to P. Sherman Wallabe Way Sydney, they had to ride that current with all the sea turtles. The only way for the to get on the current was to break through the barrier and just jump right in, being whisked away in the rushing water. And in order to get out, they had to do the same thing all over again.

Conversations are like that, aren't they? Sitting on the couch at my friend's apartment, I could hear many different conversations going on at once. I had to choose which one to participate in and break into it, jumping with both feet. Once I was a part of that conversation, I couldn't be a part of the others. The only way to join any of those was to break out of the one I was in and then bust into the next.

Does that make sense?

Oh, well.

I thought it was interesting.