Trade ya!

Day 6: A Picture of Who You'd Like to Trade Places With for a Day

I struggled with this one... would I want to be famous? A brilliant musician? A poet? I have a list of people I'd love to sit down and have coffee with...but to actually trade places is a bit tricky to me. So bear with me...but I am choosing:

Shawn White

(and here's why...)

I am:

-cautious

-reserved

-book-worm

-"J" (as in the MBTI "J")

-planner

-and really like my feet to be planted on the ground.

Therefore, I chose Shawn because I am curious about...

-the THRILL of flying down a half-pipe (instead of the TERROR I experience on the bunny hill)

-the courage to try new jumps, techniques (instead of the fear of broken bones and failure)

-being athletic (which I attempted and found myself uninterested and clumsy)

-the rush I imagine it to be when winning an Olympic Gold Medal (because I am positive that will not be happening in this lifetime! Unless "Organizing" becomes a sport...)

image found here

Memory Lane

Day 5: A Picture of Your Favorite Memory

Well, if you ask me, that is an unfair question. I always have trouble picking favorites (which is why you hear me say "This is my favorite movie!" about every fifth movie we watch). Favorite memory of childhood? With each of my friends? College? Trips? I can't narrow it down to just ONE over twenty-three(almost four) years. But I will.

No surprise here, but July 16, 2011 is my Favorite Memory:

memory: Being so excited - 4:00 couldn't come soon enough!

memory: walking slowly with my dad and taking in the smiles of loved ones and friends, and the moment when I looked up and saw my Nick.

memory: the ceremony. Loud clinking rocks and laughter as our families 'planted' the bamboo, taking the 'kiss the bride' part into our own hands and remembering to bend our knees!

memory: the week before with the most amazing friends anyone could ask for. Their generosity, love, support, excitement and friendship means more to me than I can ever express!

memory: officially becoming an Anderson and always treasuring my Bostrom side

memory: the details. So much planning, phone calls, craft marathons... to see it all come together was magical!

memory: the PaRtY! So much fun, went so quickly, and an awesome DJ that orchestrated it all!

memory: marrying my Nicholas. My love. My best friend. Figuring life out together is such a blessing.

Yeah. That pretty much sums up my favorite memory. :)

Day 4...ish

Day 4: A Picture of Your Night

Well. I keep failing miserably at documenting my night and last night I took a picture of our delicious dinner Nick made and it's on his phone. So how about some word pictures?!

Last night I would include a picture of the book Radical, by David Platt as I had our small group meeting discussing another chapter as well as the amazing dinner Nick prepared: Peppered chicken with an amazing sauce, grilled veggies and gniocchi with marinara sauce. It was delicious.

The day before that I would have taken a picture of our awesome Uhaul truck and moving our NEW futon and chairs and end tables into the apartment! (In the rain. The only rain we've had in 30 straight days... and in case you're wondering the past two days have been back to sunshine. Thanks, Seattle!)

And I don't really remember what happened Sunday and Saturday (which was officially day 4...) Hmmm...where did those memories go? Probably where much of the other stuff I can't find is tucked away in our chaotic apartment. BUT WE HAVE FURNITURE! (I'm a bit excited!!!)

Narrow vs. Wide

Well...the photo thing fell by the wayside this weekend.

I'll pick that back up tomorrow...

...but in the meantime this is something that's been on my mind as I read Radical, and Richard talked about it last night and summed it up on his blog - read the full blog here - it's worth it!

Here's the part that's ringing in my ears:

"Let’s get practical. The fall line of discipleship asks hard things of us, that are contrary to our world:

1. Forgive, when the rest of the world tells us to exact revenge, and our hearts tell us to keep our pain

2. Give generously – 10% or more to your church, and to the poor; give your time, and your extra space at your table, when our world tells us, “You earned it, it’s yours, keep it for yourself – or spend it.”

3. Your sexuality belongs in the covenant relationship of marriage, while the wide road is filled with alternatives.

4. Your life is not your own, so the only important question is “what does God ask of me.” This stands in contrast to a world of autonomy.

5. You are made to be part of a community that is committed to making God’s reign visible, so find a church family and commit to it, in spite of the fact that it will take you all of ten minutes to find flaws in it. This stands in contrast to the spiritual consumerism that characterizes American Christianity, which is a wide road where the masses feed at the trough of religious programming, seeking to fill the void by passively consuming.

The Exhaustion of the Wide Road. Watch this: (referring to the above concepts by number)

1. Bitterness is killing people, while those who forgive walk upright, find joy, sleep better, lower their blood pressure and cortisol presence, and on and on it goes.

2. Those who give find not only joy, but financial provision in their lives as, having put God’s priorities first, they are enabled to get their financial house in order, living within their means, and finding joy in what they have, rather than self-medicating by shopping.

3. There’s overwhelming scientific evidence of a correlation between multiple sex partners, and increased levels of depression, leading to increased use of counseling and medication. Much of this is documented in the recent book, which is more of statistical presentation than a theological treatise.

4. The NY Times recently wrote about “decision fatigue,” the thesis of which is that the multiplication of choices we face is paralyzing us.

5. Spiritual consumerism creates a passivity that bypasses discipleship, while giving attenders the illusion that they’re maturing because they know how to sit still for 75 minutes on Sunday. Rubbish. Maturity isn’t sitting, but serving.

These are markers on the wide road, and people on that road are tired. They’re tired of being two people, tired of guilt, tired of not sleeping well, tired of self-medicating by sinking into addictive behavior, tired of their own critical spirit, tired of the joylessness and stress that sometimes characterize their lives. There’s got to be a better way."

I'm challenged. First of all, if we're talking about skiing I barely get off the bunny hill let alone make it up the chair lift to even criss-cross down the mountain. So the fall line sounds terrifying to me. But it also makes a whole lot of sense. Therefore I'm challenged in my faith. Where have I taken the wide path and lowered the bar for my convenience? Just so I can feel better about my attempts.

Lord I pray I may find the narrow road and then I pray to have the courage to take it.

"I'll get rainy day bear!!"

"...because HE'LL KNOW WHAT TO DO?!?!?!"

Day 3: Picture of the cast of your favorite show. I didn't even have to think about this one!

A few of my favorites:

"Pheobe Buffet?" "... Fire Alarm?!?!"

Rachel: "What happened to your shirt?" Ross: "I got mugged and they took my pocket"

Monica: "Grand Supreme Little Miss Darling?????" Rachel: "CONgratuLATIONS!"

(I really could go on forever...Brie and I usually do!)

Day 2

Day 2: A picture of the person you've been closest with for the longest

I suppose that would be this lovely woman: Miss Megan

*She was my first sleepover in 1st grade

*We braved Girl Scouts together and even earned our Silver Award

*Always sat in the back of church and wrote notes to each other

*Went to summer camp with me "It's Cool in the Furnace", I still remember our tye-dye shirts

*Boycotted the school bus and walked home from middle school...

*Faithfully went with me to Skate City every Friday night while I 'dated' Eric in 7th grade

*Endless games of Mario Kart

*Laughed the whole way through A Walk to Remember (and I spilled my full extra large soda all over the floor)

*Skipped class and got caught in 8th grade...one of our finer plans gone awry

*Dance team (and dance parties in her basement...)

*New Years Eve parties and supported one another's new adventures in life

*My maid of honor and best friend

As a wall hanging I gave her once said: "You'll be my best friend forever...you know too much!!"

Love you, Meg!

Wonderings

I've decided to try the 60 Day Picture Challenge (which has been floating around fb...and basically encompasses posting pictures following the prompts for each day for 60 days). Basically because March went pretty well and I still love the photo app on my iTouch and it'll help me get back into a routine of writing.

So commences Day 1:

"Post a picture of yourself with 15 facts"

Introducing... Mrs. Anderson!

I don't feel inspired to post 'facts' about myself so am including questions/wonderings currently rolling around my head:

1. When will everything get here?! I feel like my whole life is in the mail!

2. What should we have for dinner? (a tricky question when I avoid grocery shopping like the plague)

3. Where is the laser pointer? (It was needed last night to get the cats out of the bedroom. They eventually joined me in the living room after spending a half hour scouring for the stupid thing).

4. Who is Jennifer Anderson? It's like a whole new identity! I think back of who 'Jennifer Bostrom' was, what she was known for...wonder what stamp on life Jennifer Anderson is going to make...

5. When will my bee sting stop itching?

6. What if I chopped off 10 inches of my hair? Too drastic? Too much change at once?

7. Will I ever catch up on scrapbooking?

8. Hmmm....that feels sufficient to me. 7 questions are enough.

Newness

During the hiatus on this here blog...

... I got married (!!!)

... spent a glorious week saturated in Disney adventure

... and am attempting to settle in to this newness. New apartment. New journey of walking life with my husband. New name. And all with a spectrum of emotions.

A friend of mine shared this quote with me:

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924)

It beautifully sums up where I am. I've really never been good at change. I always suffer whiplash and take a bit more time than some to adjust. It was harder coming back and jumping into daily life than I thought. Who doesn't feel morose after spending blissful, carefree days on beaches and being catered to for a few weeks? So much excitement, anticipation, friends, family and events! Food, music, and the big event! Then whisked away to a warm and dreamy vacation (with Mickey too!) were beyond expectation and so perfect. Not in a "everything went exactly as it was supposed to" way, but as in my heart was so full and sure that it all was exactly how it needed to be.

Coming back and suddenly switching gears to working, bills, our mess of an apartment which were working (slowly) to turn into a home resulted in me crashing - I was still in dreamy vacation land and felt like I got dropped on my head. First of all I got sick and didn't get out of bed for two days. My body's response to the emotional roller-coaster of planning, executing and oh yeah, attending the wedding! How could time fly? How can it be August? I kind of thought the world ended after July 16, 2011 because that date was such a focal point for so long! Tomorrow it will be one month. One month(!) and I reflect on our humble journey for 30-some days. Full of laughter, frustration, schedules, endless phone calls, and to-do lists. I can't wait for it all to continue and I'm also sitting in the midst of letting go of what was. Singleness. Self-focus. Bostrom. They are all a part of me, but I have to fully turn this page to read the rest of the story. A story I'm blessed and excited to create.

These encouraging and wise words from my friend echo and settle into this place of reflection and acknowledgment. Acceptance and releasing. Anticipation and patience. Overflowing love and drops of grief.

"Soak in these changes, which I know you will, but allow yourself to feel the truth of *all* your emotions. Don’t try to rush away the sad things, give wide-open space to them and offer them their proper due. They have things to teach you, too."