post on family blog

Since we're still switching over to the new blog, I thought I would pop on here and let you now that I just posted on our family blog with some new pictures of Baby.

If you know us in real life, we're happy to give you access to the blog, but we'll need you to contact us with a gmail email address to add to the "approved" list.  Just let me know via comment, text or email and I'll add you (or FB Caleb, if you'd prefer).  :)

the saddest date night ever

Tonight my husband and I picked up Olive Garden, put the baby to bed and had a mini-date on the couch, eating dinner while watching Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.

He brought the DVD home a few days ago from the base library and asked if I would watch it with him.

Soliders from at least three different wars wrote representing three branches of the military.  Some were enlisted and some were officers.  Mixed throughout the stories were clips from interviews with the writers and quotes about war.

I felt more than ever that the world is grey.  That no matter how much we want them to be, right and wrong are not always so easily distinguishable.  Is doing the wrong thing for the right reasons still wrong?  Is doing the right thing for the wrong reason still right?  Right and wrong get twisted up together it seems and we have to somehow make sense of them and choose a course of action.  

It was sobering, this movie.

We both cried.

"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." (hemingway)

balance: busy vs lazy

I like caveats.

I like balance.

It seems like the Christian life especially is full of things to balance.  Speak the Truth, but speak it in love.  Live a humble yet bold life.  Let your actions speak

Here's another balance I've been thinking about lately.  Being busy vs lazy.

I love this quote.  As Americans, I think it's so easy to be busy all the time whether it is with activities or just with social media and overstimulation.  In college, especially, I remember people who were *always* running to an activity to the point that they made themselves sick and really couldn't do anything well.  That's not the way we were meant to live!

But this is where the caveat comes in.  It's easy to take this to the extreme which results in selfishness and acedia.  We need to live simple lives, but we also need to live intentional lives.  So if Caleb and I say "no" to a ministry at Church because we don't want a hectic, rushing life, we have to be careful to not simply waste that time.  

Ahh.  Balance.  It's so hard.

"publish"

It's that little orange button that sits at the top of the page while I write.

It's one ominous word.

Publish.

One click takes my words from being private and personal to being accessible to anyone.  To everyone. To the world.

It's this button that has kept so many half-written posts from ever being completed.  It seems that the more I write and the older I get, the more I realize how much I don't know.  Or I realize that someone else has already said what I'm thinking and done it with much more eloquence.

A few weeks ago I was discussing this with someone and, when she mentioned this feeling, I urged to her simply do it.  Click the button.  Publish.  But then I admitted that I hadn't been writing for the same reason.

So today I'm doing it.  I'm pressing the button.

I may not having anything profound to say.  I may not say it perfectly.  But I'm not going to let my overanalyzing paralyze my writing tonight.

For the next two weeks I'm going to try to write something (anything!) each day just to get myself writing and overcome my hesitance.  We'll see if I actually make it!

tonight.

I haven't been writing.

I've been thinking.  And reading.  And praying.  And studying.  And processing.

My husband and I have been having serious discussions over the last couple of months about our privacy as a family, and especially about giving our son the space to grow away from the eyes of the world.  In this internet-crazed society, there are few things that are kept private.  I wonder what it would be like to grow up with your entire childhood documented for strangers to view and I can't say that it is fair to subject my child to this sort of life.  I could write much more on the subject, and perhaps I will, but for now I can simply leave it with the fact that we are doing what we think is best for our child in the long run.

So we have decided to separate our family life and this blog.  We've set up a private blog which will be accessible to close friends and family where we will share pictures and stories of our life and our baby.  In the next few weeks, we'll be removing pictures, some posts and perhaps names from this blog and instead start posting on the other.

This space will return to what it was originally.  A quiet space for me to think and reflect and process.  I share it because I hope can encourage at least one other person who might perhaps be on a similar journey and be working through similar feelings.

Thank you for your patience as we work to get the blogs separated and then as I slowly work on getting back to writing and posting.

(if you are a friend or family member and would like access to the other blog, you can contact me to be added to the list.  you'll need a google email address/google profile.)

Seven.

C.S. Lewis once said, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”  I may disagree with him about the *length* of books (certain ones like Les Miserables were tough for me to get through!), but I can agree that you can never have too many books.  Although I still have quite a few books around the house that are waiting to be read, these are a few that I've had my eye on recently.

1.  Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey (coming out in November 2013)

2.  Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back by Frank Schaeffer

3.  A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle

4.  Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years by Jim Fay and Charles Fay

5.  AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes and How It Hurts Our Country by Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer

6.  [Untitled - Third Book in Divergent Trilogy] by Veronica Roth (coming out Fall 2013)

7.  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

guest post: Improving A Veteran's Health

Things have been a little slow on the blog lately as we have been recovering from the holidays, getting over some illness and discussing some changes in our future.  However when Emily Walsh, the Community Outreach Director for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, contacted asking if she could guest post here about healthy lifestyles for veterans, I was more than happy to oblige!  Below the article there's a short bio about Emily and a link to read more of her writing so be sure to check that out!

If you have served in the military, there is no way that anyone can repay your debt.

While most veterans are proud of their accomplishment, many of them leave the

military and suffer from a number of military-related ailments. PTSD, mesothelioma

and other problems are common for veterans of all ages. It does not matter the

branch of military you served in or what you did while serving, you still need to take

care of yourself when you are not on active duty. There are several things you can

do yourself that will improve the entire quality of your life. 

One thing you can do that will improve your life is to exercise more often. Many

people, especially veterans, tend to become very sedentary later on in life. You may

find yourself working a desk job or dealing with a disability that causes you to stay

home all day. Whatever the case, there is an exercise out there that you can do.

Even veterans who are in wheelchairs can exercise often and should get out of the

house in order to do so. Getting out into the fresh air or joining a busy local gym are

two ways for you to feel good and bring more physical activity into your life. 

Your diet can also affect the way you look, feel and live. A poor diet filled with junk

and processed foods is not good for anyone and can cause major weight problems

and diabetes. The best way to avoid these problems is to simply change your diet

and watch your weight carefully. Try to avoid going on fad diets that only offer

temporary results. Instead, aim to change the way you eat and feast on more

wholesome foods each day. For example, swap out white rice with brown and switch

to sweet potatoes and ditch the white kind. You'll find that these easy changes make

for amazing results. 

Your doctor should also be consulted and visited on a routine basis. Your doctor is

the only one who is going to be able to tell you if there is anything wrong with you or

if you need to be put on any type of medication. If you're suffering with PTSD,

anxiety or depression, you should bring these things up when in the office. If you're

dealing with physical problems, your doctor can either perform surgery, send you for

physical therapy or even prescribe you a medication. 

You should be doing everything in your power to ensure a healthy and productive

life. There is no reason for you to sulk at home even if you have an emotional,

mental or physical disorder. There are quite a few things you can do at home for

yourself that will improve your health and well-being. This is why you need to

implement these changes and make them part of your life so that you can become a

more whole individual. Veterans, especially, need to look over their health more

carefully than normal people out there.

As the Community Outreach Director for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, Emily Walsh dedicates much of her time building cancer awareness through social media and blogging. To read more from Emily go to www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/emily/. 

Thanks again, Emily, for the great information!