One Christmas Gift Down...

Jen and I like to go on late night walks. Now when I say "late night" I mean like 8:30pm so not super late, though it is dark out. We have our normal spot we meet at and we have our routine route that we walk. And we don't just walk. We walk, we talk, we laugh, we sing, we jog (sometimes) we cry (not all that often, but it's happened) and we dodge dumb drivers in cars...which leads me to telling you what I'm buying Jen for Christmas...

Reflective clothing OR reflectors for her clothing.

As we were walking the other night we cross a street and reach a corner leading into a neighborhood. There's a BMW coming directly at us so I walk one way and Jen walks the other. The lady in the car rolls down her window and says to Jen, "I really couldn't see you at all. I wanted to let you know that."

I begin to laugh inside as I look at Jen and already know what she's thinking and what she wants to say to this lady.

But Jen nicely replies: "Okay, thank you."

I look at Jen and start busting up laughing.

Apparently we need to wear reflectors on our clothing and a hat with a blinking light so people can see us.

But I'm sure even if we wore that stuff we could make it look good.

I'm thinking a neon pink jump suit for Jen and neon green for me. If we wore that we would totally be bringing sexy back...

"It's All Coming Back To Me Now..."

For some reason this scripture keeps coming back into my head over the past couple of weeks...

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Random Toyota Commerical

Random mentioning of Fresno in this Toyota commercial. See if you can catch it...

Really, Fresno of all places? I know it's no New York or Chicago or LA but I really don't think Fresno is as bad as people make it out to be...

Top Ten Things I Love About The Holidays...

10. Gingerbread lattes from Starbucks

9. Baking goodies and delivering them to neighbors

8. Listening to Christmas music

7. Wrapping Christmas presents and using pretty paper with pretty ribbon

6. Seeing old friends who are in town for the holidays

5. Christmas morning--the fire going, hot chocolate in hand.

4. Driving down Christmas Tree Lane

3. Spending time with my brother

2. Going to church on Christmas Eve with my mom and dad. Singing Silent Night, holding a candle, with my dad's arm around me.

1. Going to Wendy's with Jen on Christmas Day.

One of my top ten worst things ever...

is being cold. I despise being cold. When I am cold I become like a different person. I get moody and don't feel like I can function until I warm up. I was absolutely freezing tonight when I was with some friends at Uncle Harry's and they left the doors open--there was cold air coming in and I was not a happy bagel eater.

I'm not sure what the other 9 things would be on my list of top ten worst things ever, but being cold would surely be on there and probably in the top three.

I would rather bundle up and as j.lo says "look like a butterball turkey" then be cold. Hands down.

Trans Fat Fast...

Trans fat...it is so, so bad for you. And it's in foods that you wouldn't even think. The nutrition label on a product my say "0 grams of trans fat" however if one of the ingredients on the list is "partially hydrogenated oil" that is code for "trans fat"--it's the same thing.

Our good friend Wikipedia tells us this about trans fat:

"Unlike other dietary fats, trans fats are neither required nor beneficial for health.[1] Eating trans fats increases the risk of coronary heart disease. Health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils are generally considered to be more of a health risk than those occurring naturally."

So why is it used?:

"These more saturated fats have a higher melting point making them attractive for baking, and extending their shelf-life. Partially hydrogenated oils have been used in food for many reasons. Partial hydrogenation increases product shelf life and decreases refrigeration requirements. Because baking requires semi-solid fats to suspend solids at room temperature, partially hydrogenated oils can replace the animal fats traditionally used by bakers (such as butter).

So in light of knowing how bad trans fat is for me and how it can be hiding in so many different foods, I'm going on a "trans fat fast" for a week to see if I can do it. It may not sound that hard, but you'd be surprised at all of the places you'll find this "partially hydrogenated oil".

Who's with me???

Thanksgiving...

was good. I didn't feel good over the weekend so that wasn't fun--but praise be to God that He has given me loving and understanding family and friends who put up with me when I'm crabby. When I don't feel good I sometimes get a little moody. I'm fully aware of this and I don't like it. And when I don't feel good I like quite environments, but my brother, bless his heart, is naturally a loud person. He talks loud, sings loud, watches TV extremely loud (I'm pretty sure I'm getting him a hearing aid for Christmas) but he tried to turn down his volume a little :)

So all that to say, on Thanksgiving I was reminded of how blessed I am to have good family and friends who love me regardless of my crabbiness.

PTL. Praise The Lord.

"Your Actions Are Not Your Own..."

Think about it--like it or not, it's true. Things we do affect us and either directly or indirectly, affect those around us.

Whether you realize it or not, you impact people on a daily bases.

What kind of impact are you having?

Makes You Think...

"...we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen." -- John le Carre

I took this from Jamie's blog. It made me think and I love how Jen and I think alike.

Just think about it..."a world no one else has ever seen..."

What's your world like?

The Countdown Begins...

Only 37 days left until Christmas.

Wow.

I have to say I'm excited to bake some goodies :)

And I'm excited for Christmas lunch when Jen and I go to Wendy's and eat chicken nuggets and french fries with a frosty of course. It may sound completely weird and crazy for some people, but this is a tradition we started about 3 years ago...maybe 4...Jen, can you help me out with this?

But any how, it's something I look forward to very much. I can't fully explain why, and I've come to be okay with not being able to explain it. There's just something about being with your best friend on Christmas afternoon, sitting in comfy clothes with our hair a mess, no make up on enjoying the goodness of Wendy's, that really, nothing else can compare to.

Trust me.

Everyone and every family have their Christmas traditions and this has become one of mine and Jen's. Yes, our kids and husbands will be eating Wendy's on Christmas afternoon :) Well, we'll see about that one...

Only 37 days to go...

Lifes Little Instructions...

For my birthday I received "Life's Little Instruction Book". I was reading through it today and thought I would highlight a few that stuck out to me. These aren't in any particular order but they all rang true to me in some form or fashion...

--Compliment three people every day.
--Live beneath your means.
--Be forgiving of yourself and others.
--Keep secrets.
--Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.
--Stop blaming others. Take responsiibility for every area of your life.
--Admit your mistakes.
--Eat prunes.
--Don't take good health for granted.
--Forget the Joneses.
--Choose your lifes mate carefully. From this one decision will come ninety percent of all your happiness or misery.
--Make a habit to do nice things for people who'll never find it out.
--Put a lot of little marshmallows in your hot chocolate.
--Know how to change a tire.
--Remember peoples names.
--Keep your watch five minutes fast.
--Use seatbelts.

Now here is my take on these things...

--Compliment three people every day - The world would be so different if everyone did this.
--Live beneath your means - Part of my issue with buying a new car...
--Be forgiving of yourself and others - Easier said than done...
--Keep secrets - Isn't it interesting how word gets around about who can keep a secret and who can't?
--Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday - Yes and Yes.
--Stop blaming others. Take responsiibility for every area of your life. - This is something Jen and I talk about often.
--Admit your mistakes - It's humbling and good for the soul.
--Eat prunes - I LOVE prunes!
--Don't take good health for granted - "You don't know what you got till it's gone..."
--Forget the Joneses -
--Choose your lifes mate carefully. From this one decision will come ninety percent of all your happiness or misery - I'm sure there are many people out there who can speak to this truth.
--Make a habit to do nice things for people who'll never find it out - like putting money in a person's expired parking meter...it's such a good feeling and they'll never know you helped them out and potentially saved them from getting a big fat ticket.
--Put a lot of little marshmallows in your hot chocolate - and lots of whipped cream!
--Know how to change a tire - at the age of 23 I can now say (after mulitple tire issues) I do know how to change a tire!
--Remember peoples names - I wish I was better at this...
--Keep your watch five minutes fast - or in my or Jen's case...twenty minutes fast.
--Use seatbelts - One word: Eric *cough cough*

64 an Still Counting

Three days ago my grandma and grandpa celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary. Take a minute and just take that in...64 years together--side by side--husband and wife.

The thought of being with the same person day after day after day for 64 years amazes me and kind of boggles my mind. I think any couple that gets married, has the hope and desire to be married to that person for the rest of their life, but I wonder how many people think it will extend beyond 60 years with that same person.

And after 64 years of living and "doing life" with the same person, is there anything that you wouldn't know about them?

My grandma and grandpa continually amaze me and I have been so blessed to have their marriage and commitment to one another as an example for me as I look down the road towards marriage someday.

And the best part...they still hold hands. My grandpa helps my grandma put on her sweater and every week my grandma cuts the baseball TV schedule out of the newspaper and puts it next to my grandpas recliner, so he knows when all the games are on and what channel to turn to. And my grandpa tells me often that the best decision he ever made in his life was to marry my grandma. "I'd be lost without her" he's told me. "When you find a good woman, only a fool would let her go. And I found the best one".

Thank you Jesus for their example of true love and commitment.

Number 65...here they come...

Grounds For Divorce...

Three things my mom has told me she will never run out of in the house because they are a necessity for my dad.

1. Ketchup
2. Chocolate Syrup
3. Coffee

And then she said, "If I ran out of coffee that would be grounds for divorce." Haha...get it..."grounds for divorce"...coffee grounds... And the best part is she didn't even mean to make a joke... I love it when that happens.

Just For The Record...

I'm pretty sure I have something living with me in my apartment. Just ask any of my RAs and I think they would agree. I've heard some interesting noises...and they heard them too...

I'm not sure what it could be, but I just wanted to put it out there on the record, so when I do find something, I can at least not feel like I was a freak and just imagining things...

I told everyone I've been waiting for a possum to jump out of my closet... We shall see.

Halloween 2007

I should say it was more a Halloween/Third Annual "Triple B Birthday Bash". The three B's representing: Brandie, Beth and Becky as we all have birthdays the last week of October.

Good times for sure. This is only one of many pictures from the evening. As you can see we had an eclectic group of costumes...

People will change. Circumstances will change. Life will change. God doesn't change.

Every week I write what's called a "Thought From The Throne" for the ladies on campus. These "thoughts" are hung up in the bathroom stalls in the residence halls to give them something to read while they're "doing their business". Below is one that I wrote last week . I share this with you because, as I wrote it, the ideas expressed in it really resonated with me and it may, in some way, resonate with you too.

This weekend I went down to the lovely city of Visalia and was a bridesmaid in a wedding for a good friend of mine. I met both her and her then boyfriend (now husband) when we were all three students here at Fresno Pacific. Her and I lived together our senior year of college and became good friends. The wedding was a joyous celebration. She looked beautiful. He was overjoyed at the sight of his bride walking down the aisle. And on Saturday, October 27th, their five year span of dating ended and they became husband and wife.

Now I’ve been blessed to attend many weddings and have now been apart of the bridal party in a total of five weddings. By no means am I saying this to sound cool or as my good friend and fellow RD Dave Obwald would say “to brag about my friend count” but rather to give glory to God that I’ve been blessed with many good, deep and treasured friendships. There is a sense of excitement that can be felt in the air as two people decide to commit their whole lives to one another and to only one another.

My favorite part of every wedding is the moment when the bride begins to walk down the aisle and the groom stands up front, breathless as he watches her every move. I love to watch the expressions on both of their faces as their eyes meet and she moves down the aisle towards him. For Christian couples who pledge their vows in marriage to one another and to God, there is a sense of understanding that they have the ability to love one another, only because God first loved them.

Now go with me here…

I’ve been wrestling with this idea of “love” for sometime now. Now before you think I’m getting all mushy and completely “girly” on you, go with me for a minute. I would venture to say at one point or another we’ve all heard the words, “God loves you” and we’ve probably heard “I love you” from a family member or close friend. The word “love” gets thrown around a lot in our culture and we can find ourselves using the word “love” to describe things like shoes, food ,clothes, etc... “I love those shoes and I love chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream” (that’s my personal favorite). Of course this “love” would be different then the love we give to or receive from people.

Grasping the idea of God’s love for us can be very difficult at times. As humans, we don’t love like God loves—-we can’t. Just like we don’t have the ability to forgive in the same way God forgives or understand His grace at times when we truly don’t deserve it. And we can’t earn God’s love—-He gives is freely. We don’t have to put on an act and try and be someone we’re not in order to be loved by God. You already are loved and valued.

You are good enough exactly as you are. Do you believe this? Because it’s true. You have limitless worth and value. If you embrace this truth, it will affect every area of your life. You are worth dying for. Your worth does not come from your body, your mind, your work, what you produce, what you put out, or how much money you make. Your worth does not come from what you do but from who God is. You don’t have to earn God’s love—-you can’t. You’re already loved-—deeply.

For some this idea of God’s infinite love can be hard to swallow. I encourage you to really think about how valuable you are in God’s sight and how His love for you will not change. People will change. Circumstances will change. Life will change. God’s love for you will never change. Just think about it…

Until Next Week…

Becky

I've Been Slacking...

To all of my beloved readers (yes, all five of you :)

I am deeply sorry for my lack of posts this past week. October is always a busy month and this year it seemed to be even busier than usual--but no excuses. If you can hang with me for just another day or so, I promise to get some new posts (and pictures!) up.

Thanks for hanging in there...

Gratefully Yours,
BK

THIS was in my kitchen...

I opened my cubbard this evening to get out a frying pan and this little guy freaked out and jumped out of the cubbard, and needless to say, freaked me out in the process! It was disgusting to say the least and it was HUGE. This was not your average black widow spider! YUCK!

First I had a GIANT cockroach in my bathroom, then a mouse was living with me and now a black widow! I'm just waiting for a possum to jump out of my closet...

Just Like It Says...

Go See This Movie

So, so good. This movie was recommended to me by Sara and J.Mast and it lived up to all they said it would. Jen I think you would like this movie. You too Jamie. Let me know if you see it and what you think.