Content With Obscurity

"When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too - the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ." Colossians 3:4 Obscurity - the condition of being unknown; ambiguity; an unknown or unimportant person or thing; darkness; dimness; indistinctness. Maybe it's all the messages internalized over the years that "You have a call, a destiny, a purpose to fulfill on this earth" "God's called you to shine for Christ in your generation." These catch phrases are as true as the first time I heard them but sometimes indistinctness covers the path and is something I wrestle with as of late. When obscurity hits, how do you handle it? In the gardening world, often times you will plant and not see the fruit for years to come. If you just base the life of the plant on what's happening in those in between years, you'll potentially get rid of some plants that could be producing amazing stuff, if you wait. Waiting. There's that word again too. It's like the "meanwhile" in the scripture above. In the meantime, while you wait, be content.....content with obscurity. Maybe I'm more of a social diva than I truly care to admit. I like people and I like to be useful. In the past, vocational jobs included socially and spiritually helpful positions in Christian ministry. That was my job "title" on college campuses, high schools, a church or two. But those titles have been shed and I'm glad. Sometimes being useful just means being you. Isn't that purpose enough? And as you are you, and you just keep doing what's right, leave the results to God. Be content with the unknown, ambiguous place in life. Like the one who is wise in that season, continue to sow your seeds, continue to water. Watch what God will do with that. Truth is, your life is different in Christ even if no one else around you recognizes that. I love what Elisabeth Elliot has to say about this. Elisabeth Elliot ‎"[Christ] is my model. This means a different set of ambitions, a different definition of happiness, a different standard of judgment altogether. Behavior will change, and very likely it will change enough to make me appear rather odd--but then my Master was thought very odd."

Simple Life Continued - the Detox

Sugar cravings come in spurts for me. I'm not one that needs a dessert each night after dinner. Typically that's not how I roll. But every once in awhile, I crave and even seek out a variety of sweets from junior mints to sweet tarts to snickers bars to my ultimate favorite MAGNUM ice cream bar. And when it rains, it pours. I seriously just can't get enough and I seek it out at every turn. The bad thing is this. First, unburned sugar turns into fat. When you consume more than you burn, it starts to pile around my waist. This is near my organs and this means disease. I know this. I know it's bad and I know the affect it has on my body. But do I care? No. I really don't. I want to savor the taste. I remember someone once telling me to get things like M & M's and just eat a few when you get a craving. You know, that would be great if my personal self control were up a few notches. My husband is disciplined when I don't tempt him. Poor man, I bring home the goods and then we partake. So, I decided this summer I'm going to take the challenge and this week I will start a sugar detox. http://www.damyhealth.com/2011/02/the-sugar-detox/ Wish me the best. I know I am going to feel better, drop some weight and be glad I did it. Healthy eating means healthy living. I really can't wait to try her cocktail idea - lemon and ginger and spritzer water. YUM.

A Simple Path

Sometimes I just want simplicity. In the midst of day to day living, sometimes it's just good to pull back, remember the simple things and let go of whatever is complicating mind, soul or body. Near the end of our vacation last week until now, that's what I've focused on in my daily devotionals. Maybe it was reading of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and realizing that not even 200 years ago, this wild west was nothing but wide open spaces with nothing. There were no Costco's, Starbucks, Kohl's or Walmart. Westernization has filled in the rest of the west. And you know...it's not necessarily bad (except what we did to the Indians to get here), it's just the way things have happened going west. Simplicity is something I'll probably always be chasing in this lifetime. So quickly my mind, my soul, and most importantly my appetites want to complicate things and draw me away from the simple life. Mother Teresa is someone I've always admired and respected for her simple love and her simple life in India. She has lived this simple kind of life and faith, the kind I'd like more of in my world. Simple faith. Simple love. Simple hope in a loving God. On a side note, I love food, all kinds of food, but sometimes that can turn into gluttony. Overeating and gorging myself on the fat of the land when others have nothing. Delicious meats with cheese and sauces, tasty wines and of course the new found love for that bar that I came to love in Europe - the Magnum. I forget the simple life when I eat, eating just to live instead of living to eat. There's something about cutting back and not focusing on foods and their deliciousness sometimes that is, for me, tied back into living a simplified life. Maybe that's where fasting even comes in. We don't live for bread. There's so much more. I love understanding - things, people, this world in general. But sometimes I gorge myself on thoughts that are too much for one brain to try and pursue. I get nervous, anxious, frustrated, all up in my head. Sometimes it just boils back down to simple love and letting go of everything else. And here's why I love the Mother T. ".....As we grow in our love for God, we grow to respect all He has created, and to recognize and appreciate all the gifts He has given us. Then naturally, we want to take care of all of them. God made the world for the delight of human beings - if only we could see His goodness everywhere - His concern for us, His awareness of our needs...I believe there's no such thing as luck in life. It's God's love, It's His." What does this have to do with simplicity? I think it's going back to thanksgiving. To taking care of ourselves and our loved ones by focusing on simplicity.

My Love/Hate List

In an effort to keep "linked in" with my sis, I am publishing my love/hate list per her request. Hate is quite a strong word but of no real affect these days. Sadly, "love" has been watered down to loving things like chocolate and long walks, both of which I do in fact love. Maybe I'd rather go into an expo on the words. What do they mean really and such things like that? But in an effort to keep it simple and because I don't have much time, let me just keep with the general idea of the love/hate blog my sister is after. I LOVE MY FAMILY. Everyone has family and every family is different. One day with the Pellants and you'll find yourself loved, lots of laughter, energy, a bit distracted in conversation with you, sometimes loud, opinionated, and you'll probably experience it AT LEAST once - someone talking over you, not meaning any harm, just carried away in their own thoughts, where you can't get a word in edge wise. I love my family's openness, their honesty, their randomness, their passion, fun, and a bit of silly behavior. I really love my family - each and every sibling, my parents, and now this love has extended to my in-laws and my husband who are now a part of the family. They are much more mild-mannered in general and I love all the wonderful things about each of them and of their family dynamics. It's a wonderful adventure to be close to your family and I do love it. I HATE WHEN FAMILIES GET RIPPED APART. What I'm talking about here is the very misfortunate thing of divorce. Although I also do hate the fact that my sister and her family moved to Seattle, I wouldn't say that we are ripped apart. They are just experiencing some things and have provided a place for the rest of the family to come and visit a cool city. But that thing of divorce I really do hate and especially when kids are involved. This past year I had to process, not just one but two families, one of which was the divorce of a well-loved and respected couple that I thought had a lifetime commitment. I was angry at the husband for saying he just got a hard heart and was going to divorce. No counseling, no working it out. I hate that. I get angry because with five kids watching, what the hell is that all about? Hardest part for me is that he proclaims to be a Christ-follower. If you're a Christ-follower with a hard heart, you need to go to some counseling. Because obviously Christ is not the author of that. Off my soap box for now. Suffice to say I HATE divorce. On a much lighter note, I LOVE BEING A HOME BODY. It's something I never would have expected from myself, but it's true. After being a globe trotter for so long, I just love being home, cooking, cleaning, lounging around reading books on the couch or starting to try my hand at gardening. I HATE BEING RUSHED AROUND ON DAYS OFF. Sometimes errands or events call for movement on a day off when I'd rather just brew coffee, sit in bed and read. I LOVE PRETTY FLOWERS. Something about their texture, their colors, their smells. Nothing quite brightens up a room or my heart besides pretty flowers. I HATE HILLS. I'm surrounded by them and whenever I venture off to run or cycle from the front door, I must take on these devils. I really do hate hills. I LOVE ROAD TRIPS. My new favorite thing is taking road trips with the husband. How I love to travel with him. I think we make a great team and really enjoy each other's company. I love exploring new places, driving through new towns and finding a quaint little shop or something that makes that town stand out. We don't even have to go far. I HATE WIND. There's another thing that I'm surrounded by. One time coming home and up the hill on my bike, it was so windy I was blown off the bike. I hate it. I LOVE SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST. I don't mind being the one making it either. Scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits, fresh fruit and yummo coffee. It's like heaven on a Saturday! I HATE NECK PAIN. This past week I've experienced some of the worst neck pain. I've had to see the chiro a few times and got a massage. I hate body aches and pains. Noel and I had this conversation while in Seattle....If you had the choice between mental alertness and health in old age, which would you choose? I would choose health every time. I really do hate body pains. I LOVE FRESHLY GROUND AND BREWED ORGANIC COFFEE. Nothing tastes quite as delicious. I'm drinking it now. I HATE WHEN WOMEN GET CADDY. What is it about the female gender and caddyness? Fortunately, I've been mostly spared by this. But I have to say it's one of the things I HATE. Gossip, caddiness, it smells nasty and must stink to high heaven. I LOVE TO CREATE. I'm not very good at it, I must admit. But give me a paintbrush or guitar. I love to play around creatively and wish I had more time to do it. I HATE IT WHEN I CAN'T GET TO MY PILE TO ORGANIZE. Yes, I have a pile of things I will get to later. I hate it when it just keeps piling up and I don't get to it. I LOVE KNOWING THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. It goes without saying there is nothing in the world that is meaningful without Him. Even the most mundane of daily events find so much meaning tied in with the grand weaver. Knowing Him in that personal affection through His son is priceless and I thank God every day that James and I do and can celebrate that love together. So there you go Noel. A little glimpse into the love hates for me.

Lewis and Clark tales

While peeking around the Visitor's Center in Glacier National Park, I picked up a small quick read book with short stories about the Lewis and Clark expedition. The book proved to be a refresher course of details once covered in elementary and junior high. I was reminded of forgotten details of the Louisiana Purchase, the story of Sacagaweia, the teenage indian girl whose presence helped secure some necessary information heading west. I was also reminded that Thomas Jefferson was more than a president, but also quite interested in horticulture and animal husbandry. Jefferson hired Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition and take note of various plants and animals spotted along the way and to send samples back, that are now in a few museums in Philadelphia and his home in Monticello. It was the Lewis and Clark expedition that first spotted the magpie, Bison, antelope, and many more animals out west. This was going to be a commercial endeavor to outwit the British, the French, the Spanish. Just days before they set out west, the United States gained a lot of the territory that they would cross found in the Louisiana purchase. History is so strange! The book proved to be more than just a refresher course of historical facts I once learned in junior high. As James and I headed home from Glacier, we crossed several of the original sites on the Lewis and Clark expedition. As we made our way back to Nevada and they made their way towards the Pacific Ocean, looking for a trade route to India, our paths crossed at these landmarks and I was in awe as I took in surroundings while reading their account of the newest landscapes US citizens had ever taken note of for posterity's sake. Several thoughts have crossed my mind since. Actually, I'm a bit disturbed at US history regarding the Indians. As bold and courageous as Lewis and Clark might have been, where is the story from an Indian's perspective? I picked up a few books written by Stephen Ambrose about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Finished one in a day but it really didn't give an Indian perspective and so I just started reading his famous "Undaunted Courage". James finished a book last summer called "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" from an Indian's perspective and I figured it was time to read it. Two very different perspectives on Indian history. I've always found that multi-book reading can be fun, as long as you can keep your facts straight while reading. I manage. One thing that I found ironic, driving home from Glacier - we saw several animals that the expedition also took note of. We were sooooo hoping to spot Bigfoot or a Grizzly, even prepared with bear spray and all....Instead, our drive home provided encounters with Elk, deer, antelope, coyote, we think a fox, and a beaver. Oh well, happy trails.