No Kissing on the Bus

Any idea which faded out kindergartener is me? 

I learned much more than Michigan history and multiplication facts from my grade school teachers. I learned important life lessons, and yes, those lessons include a little something about kissing on the bus.

Today I'm writing at Inspired Teacher. Care to join me there? Oh, and while you visit, make sure to enter yourself in this contest.

Perfect Detours

I raced down I70, late for another doctor’s appointment.

Over mountain passes and three hours along the twisty highway, and I’d arrive at Denver Children’s Hospital.

I despised the long, car trip and the too-busy doctors, and I detested waiting rooms filled with tired, empty-eyed parents.

I followed a slow-moving semi, and tried to pass, but he hugged the centerline. I had trailed the same truck through the entire canyon, and it cost me at least twenty minutes.

Then, I felt words, heavy and demanding.

Slow down. Slow down. Slow down.

Not a chance, the only thing worse then traveling to a doctor’s appointment three hours away was the look from the check-in staff when we showed up late.

Pull over. Get off the road.

Irrational. There wasn’t even a gas station on the next exit, but for some reason, I pulled off.

Stay. Wait.

I sat in my car. How silly. Sitting alone in the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter.

I checked my daughter’s nasal cannula and oxygen. Fine. I got out of the car and checked the tires. Fine. What I needed to check was my head.

Wait.

And so I did. I waited, and watched five slow minutes tick by. Then, I pulled away, and discovered the on ramp closed.

Frustrated, I turned onto a frontage road that ran along the highway. Surely, it would connect me back to I70.

I rounded the corner and the semi, my slow-moving semi, stood engulfed in flames. Cars were tipped and scattered around the bent guardrail.

My just-missed fate, our just-missed fate.

That day I was hauling more than my sweet daughter to her doctor's appointment. I was also carrying three, flamable, E-sized cylindars of oxygen.

And this is the part where I’d like to say that I dropped to my knees in thanks, but really, I dropped to my knees and puked.

Amazing, God's voice and perfect detours.

Question: What about you, friends? Ever experienced anything similar? Ever listened to God’s irrational whispers?

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Linking with Soli Deo Gloria.

Thanks, Brandee, for encouraging me to share my story on God’s Faithfulness, and also linking here. 

 Image credit.

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Pssst, have you check out Inspired Teacher, yet? Worth the clickity, click.

A Toaster and A Clock and Me

 This is a toaster.

Toss in a slice of bread, pull the lever, and wait for toasted goodness. One would never stick ice tea in a toaster to cool it, or put a DVD in a toaster to watch it. It wouldn’t be using a toaster for what it was created to do—toast.



This is a clock.

Set the alarm, go to sleep, and wake to the sound of beeping. One would never iron clothes with a clock, or make popcorn with a clock. This wouldn’t be using a clock for what it was created to do—tell time.



The same principle applies to us.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10


God created me, non-crafty, sometimes silly, story drafting, me. I will never win a math competition, shop for Christmas in September, or run an in-home daycare, and you know what? That's fine because if I forced myself to do those things, I wouldn't be used for who I was created to be—me.
 

Question: Have you ever forced yourself to do or be something that you aren't? Tell, tell, tell.

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Linking with Michelle D. for Hear It on Sunday. Use It on Monday. For those of you who don't know, this link-up encourages you to take something you hear on Sunday and share it with readers on Monday. Way fun and loads of good messages.

Toaster image and clock image.

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Remember when I said my friend Laura was working on a little something-something? Well, it's up.






So, if you teach at home or at school, in a Sunday School class or on a college campus, this place is for you! Laura also happens to be giving away some bling. So even if you aren't any of the above, click over and enter your name in the contest because who doesn't love bling?

Just Give Me This One Thing

I wanted a townhome once.

This townhome had it all: wood floors, high ceilings, a rounded, violet mantle, dangly, modern light fixtures.

See, we lived in a tiny, one bedroom apartment for three years. I used to joke that you could sit on the toilet and cook dinner at the same time. Fine, our apartment wasn’t that small, but it was small.

That’s why I wanted this townhome. This townhome boasted two bedrooms and an upstairs. This townhome felt modern and hip and trendy, and really, I thought I deserved this townhome.

So, it happened, we bought the townhome.

And as we sat on the floor of our dream townhome, do you know what we thought?

Dang, we need new curtains.

Question: Do find yourself fixated on one thing after another? Can you think of a time when you pined away for something only to receive it, and instantly long for something else? 

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Linking for the first time with Michelle at SomeGirl's Website. 

Photo credit.

When You Plan Something Awesome and It Turns Out Sucky

Sometimes our family's adventures in serving turn out amazing; Not this time.

I developed a plan, and it was brilliant, in my head.

My family and a group of friends would hold a Shoe Cutting Party for Sole Hope, a local agency seeking to provide shoes for children in Africa.

I watched the demo video, and although I am not a crafter, the project looked simple.

Trace, trace, trace. Cut, cut, cut. Safety pin together, and voila, a pair of shoes.

I emailed friends, created patterns, cued the video, and sat back.

I bet we could create shoes for a whole village. 

The only problem was the jean cutting scissors weren’t really fabric scissors, and the pinking shears were non-existent, and the little, plastic, heel pieces were difficult to cut out, and oh, the whole idea of creating an entire shoe out of matching fabric was completely lost.

So, after an hour and a half of trace, trace, trace and cut, cut, cut, outfitting a whole village in shoes, turned out to be something closer to creating two pairs of shoes.

Two pairs, people. Did I mention sixteen people worked on this?

Sigh.

What about you? What brilliant plan of yours turned out a tad suck-ish?

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Sole Hope is the cool cause of the week (see sidebar). Don't let our lack of the right supplies deter you from creating shoes with your friends. Click over to check them out. Although this is an organization out of Asheville, NC, shoe cutting parties can be held anywhere.

Oh, and what became of all the mismatched shoe pieces? Some of my sassy, high school students have been enlisted to repair our handiwork.

If you have a cool cause you’d like me to highlight, drop me an email.

*Thanks to Lori for the Sole Hope lead.

Napping and Refocus

Whew. I am back, and I feel refreshed. Thanks for your sweet comments, encouragement, and emails.

My time away from blogland proved productive in a totally non-productive kind of way.

My unplugged highlight: Pretending to nap with a certain two-year-old just so I could hear her breathe. Fine, I fell asleep too, but the deep, heavy breaths of my tiny one proved to be the exact remedy I needed to put my world into perspective.

Things I race to complete: not important.

Lives of those around me: very important.

Yes, the sweet sounds of napping helped me refocus.

What about you? What's the one thing you can always count on to help you regain focus?

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Image credit.

Linking with the crew at Jen's.

When I Think in Blog Posts

Today I saw a little, old woman dressed head to toe in eggplant purple. Purple Easter hat with a purple flower, purple-rimmed glasses, purple dress, purple accessories, and purple shoes. I smiled and silently drafted a blog post on embracing your inner, old lady.

Then, I could only find one shoe out of three different pairs of shoes, and that made me think if I only owned one pair of shoes, I’d always know where my shoes were located. This situation prompted an idea for a post on excess.

Soon after, I snapped at my daughter about something silly, and you know what I thought? Yepper, great blog material for a post on frustration.

So, in an attempt to stop thinking in blog posts and just start thinking, I am taking a tiny break from blogging.

However, blog-like thinking isn’t my only reason for taking a break. Other reasons abound.

Reason #1 I am behind on my off-line writing. We are talking stuck-in-construction-traffic-during-rush-hour-with-my-fists-clenched-and-horns-honking-behind. So, I must write.

Reason #2 I am planning an Almost Sleepover for a great cause and some amazing tweens.  The par-ta is a little over a month away, and I need to spend time focused on the fun. It's not too late for you to join in partying it up for a cause in your community. Details here.

Reason #3  A new and exciting writing adventure with some names and faces you may know begins soon.

Thanks for reading, friends. Love to all.

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Linking with the crew at Finding Heaven.
*Image credit.

Her View and Hospice

As a way to remember those who died on September 11th and also intentionally honor those who serve us today, our family wanted to find a way to serve others this weekend.

And so we did.

Some of you know Amelia, my eight-year-old daughter who shares her view on the good and bad of serving as a family. Today my sassy, little, sweet girl writes about our experience cooking and creating at a local facility for hospice patients.

Here's what Amelia had to say (unedited, of course!)

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Guess what I did? I went to Care Partners Hospice.

Hospice means there very, very, very sick so sick they might die. There were other kids with their parents today too.

Me and my mom went together and made cards and snacks like cupcake, ants on a log, preztls with caremel and choclate and prezel rods with wihte choclate and reagler choclate and spirkles. Spirinkles make every thing better. We also made card with markers, glue, ribbon, cupcake holders and pipe cleaners. Me and my mom both made two cards.

Finally we got to delver are cards and snacks. First was Edna. She was legly blind. She loved the cards and the snacks. She had the ants on a log. Next was Mary Joe. She liked are card too! But she did’nt  want a snack.  Then it was Richard. He had a oxagen tube like me when I was little. Finally came Emily. She had downsindum. She sniffed the card too. It was great day. Love Amelia

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Comments are closed today. Enjoy your Sunday, and consider finding a way to be intentional with your remembering. Need ideas? Check here.

Image credit.

Real Life Friends

Today Lisa-Jo asked us to just write for five minutes and not worry if everything is just right. This week's Five Minute Friday topic? In real life.

Would we be friends if we met in real life?

Before you decide, read on.

- Sometimes I lock my husband out of the house and refuse to let him in until he dances on the front porch. He doesn't love this game, but I find it wildly amusing, and I am certain this is an activity my neighbors appreciate too.

-I refuse to eat at restaurants that use cartoon animals to advertise. This is not because of my like or dislike of animals or cartoons, but just because I find the combined idea of cartoon animals and food weird. Chuck E. Cheese, nope. Panda Express, nah. Red Robin. No siree.

- I prefer beer over wine, but both taste wonderful on my deck, especially on Friday nights when I turn on my little, white, deck lights.

-I devour books. Usually, three or four at a time.

-I cry every time I hear this song. Every time.

-I like a good fight.

-I love the kind of laugh that makes my eyes water.

-If I don't make time to pray, words get locked in my head, and I cannot write.

-Loyalty tops my list of admirable qualities.

-"What-if" scenarios take up too much of my head space.

What about you? Anything silly or serious you want to share about yourself now that we are friends? Who are online friends that you would like to meet in real life? Who are real life friends who happen to be online?

Not So Gentle Reminders

Sometimes I keep score. I tally invisible, way-to-go-Amy marks in my head.

Good job me. Plus one.

Oh, good job me again. Plus one.

What? Me again? I'm really too much. Plus one.

Now, him. Tsk, tsk. Minus two.

What happens when the who-does-more-in-the-Sullivan-house scale tilts in my favor? 

Today my friend, Laura Lee Groves, fab author, and mom of a whole slew of boys is kicking off a new series on Family Life Lessons. Please join me there where I discuss not so gentle reminders and the whole scale thing.

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September 11th: Have you read about ways to be more intentional with your remembering? Consider honoring others by serving. Click here.

Because I Already Am Who I Am Going To Be and a Retreat

In What I Wish For You, Amy D. McCraken tells the story of her young son’s struggle to come up with a career. After much worry and deliberation, he decides he will work as a dunk tank clown in the summer and the innocent guy in police line-ups in the winter.

Brilliant.

His mom, Amy, rests in the knowledge that her young boy already embraces the person he is going to be, smart, creative, and wildly funny.

This story reminds me to stop striving and start embracing.

I work, struggle, hone my skills, and tweak my talents all in attempt to become who I was made to be.

Meanwhile, the girl in the mirror stares hard and wonders when I will stop spinning and just embrace the terrible car singer, loud belly laugher, endless word miner I already am.

The High Calling crew plans to meet up in Texas in a few weeks, and guess what? They have an open spot for a certain someone. Someone who doesn’t need to earn a trip there, but someone who wants to learn and be and embrace who they already are. Maybe that someone is me.

PS: Maybe that someone is you. It’s not too late to submit an entry to this contest. No pressure in being the best or brightest. THC plans to judge all entries by a very sophisticated evaluation process: one name drawn from one hat equals one winner.

 

*Comments are turned off today. Please consider taking a quick clickity click over to The High Calling.

10 Years Later

I sat frozen when news of the World Trade Center blared through my car’s speakers. I remember pulling over and holding my breath while the radio announcer talked on. I remember wearing a blue sweater, and I remember I spent my planning period at school picking tiny pieces of a cracked shell off a hard boiled egg. I remember thinking when I finish picking this shell off, I have no idea what to do next.

One week from today marks the tenth anniversary of September 11^th. In past years, I've offered up a small prayer or tiny moment of silence. However, this year I want to be intentional with my remembering, and I thought if I gathered a few, good ideas, you might want to be a little more intentional too.

So, regardless of whether you spend your days with kids or with numbers, with computers or with customers, fixing cars or fixing arms, this list is for you:


-I Will, The 911 Tribute Movement. Click over and enter what your tribute will be. Then, upload a picture, video, or message on the tribute card. Be sure to click around the tribute quilt, and read about the ways in which others are acting.

-Lesson Plans and Links. For all you teacher-ish types.

-Operation Honor Cards. Honor their service by offering your service. Ideas for a letter writing party.

-Read about the youngest victims of 911. Worth the longest line in the grocery store.

-Run. You know I'm not a runner, but I know many of you are. Is there a race near you?

-Walk. Physical activity more my speed. This one is only for those near Asheville, NC.

-Dicover organizations focused on bettering the lives of veterans.

-View art such as Faces of Ground Zero.

What about you? What details from this day stand out to you? How will you remember September 11th?


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Linking with Jen and friends.

Amping Up the Creativity

For when great ideas forget to show up:

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

Discovered over at Jon Acuff’s place. Off to practice #4.

Adventure Seekers and The Garden of Eden

My friend said she knew the way to the Garden of Eden.

With twenty-pound packs and adventure seeking husbands, we journeyed passed mail-carrying horses (Yes, some mail still makes its way to recipients by horse in the US!) and down ten, rocky miles to the village of Supai. 

One fading headlamp guided us away from a pack of stray dogs and through miles of cactus, laden fields, all while turquoise waterfalls pounded on.

And although ten mile, Grand Canyon adventures prove unforgetable, it's the conversation with forever friends drenched in dreams and laughter that lingers in my head.

In one sentence, tell about your favorite adventure. Somewhere far and exotic? Somewhere local and stunning?

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Happy holiday weekend, friends. Hope the next few days bring conversation drenched in dreams and laughter.

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Check out the sidebar for the Cool Cause of the Week. This week's cause? The Care Bags Foundation, a nonprofit founded by an eleven-year-old to help kids in need. Thanks, Jen for the lead.