The History of Cars

First there was Sammy. Sammy was a nondescript blue car, so nondescript that I have no idea what kind of car he was. My parents and sister Tara kicked in some money, along with the couple hundred dollars I earned bussing tables at the Denver Salad Company, where I learned from copious amounts of half-masticated cottage cheese that people are gross and I am prissy.

We velcroed Elmo's butt to Sammy's front dashboard and littered the back seat with McDonald's Happy Meal toys earned on high school lunch runs. We drove Sammy to band practice and bowling and even got chased once by some creepy teenage guys, which became of course a favorite teenage memory.

Then there was Joey, a nondescript white car, so nondescript that I have no idea what kind of car he was either. My parents kindly gave him to me in college, where he drove me to innumerable trips to Rocky Mountain Coffee Company or whatever coffee house was in vogue that season.

It died on my parent's front drive while I was in Amsterdam, never to be driven again. Upon returning from Amsterdam, my parents once again generously bestowed upon me their old car, which officially makes me a spoiled brat, I believe. It was a Chevy Lumina I never named but will now name Adelaide, and whose exact color (officially "Aubergine" to Chevrolet) was always a mystery. Adelaide was a chameleon whose low profile and murky color could blend into any parking lot, ensuring you would wander for at least 10 minutes seeking her out.

Adelaide led me on many adventures, such as getting stranded here and getting stranded there and getting stranded everywhere. Luckily, in her old age Adelaide decided to simply get me stranded at home and died a peaceful death in our garage.

And so, at the age of 31, I had to buy my first car (unless you count the several hundred cottage cheese dollars I chipped in on Sammy). And here she is:

She's a 2002 Chrysler Concord, which is rated as reliable as a Honda Accord. She has a sunroof and power windows and air conditioning and, get this, butt warmers! I don't even know what to do with myself and my toasty buns. I never actually even saw her or sat in her before signing the papers, so far does my trust of my husband and my lack of car-i-ness extend. But now that I have sat in her pleasantly warmed seats, I think I'm in love.

So what should I name my toasty new carriage?

P.S. You can see here how much snow we still have from Saturday's storm! Quite a lot more than any other place in the city!

Telephone Ministry Worker

I love personality tests. I think that makes me a narcissist. This morning, instead of getting to work on time, I decided to take a spiritual gifts test. And guess what I found out? I should be a telephone ministry worker. Yay! Actually, this is very in keeping with who I am (in most ways). Right now, I express this mainly in my writing, but I look forward to how it may be used in the future.

The results of your Spiritual Gifts Inventory indicate that your number one dominant gift is EXHORTATION! The Greek word "parakaleo" means to admonish, to encourage, to beseech. You are a "how to" person. You have the Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by motivating others to action by urging them to pursue a course of conduct. In a teaching position, you are able to explain how to apply God's Word. Your goal is to present material that enables the Holy Spirit to promote change in the student's life. You reach out and help Christians become more mature.

As an exhorter you are a very practical person, a good counselor, tolerant of others, serious-minded, orderly, and usually impulsive. You are expressive in a group setting; the group listens when you speak. You are comfortable working one-on-one or in groups. You are enthusiastic and talkative and enjoy encouraging others.

You are burdened to show how Scripture relates to conduct and have a desire to unify people by using practical rather than doctrinal issues. You likely place great importance on God's will and believe that His Word has the answer for every problem. You tend to make decisions logically rather than on feelings and are very orderly.

HOW CAN YOU USE YOUR DOMINANT GIFT? You may use your special gift in many areas. You may want to be a leadership trainer. You could certainly serve as a counselor in church or in a counseling center. You could teach in church training or seminars or even small groups. You would make a good telephone ministry worker and would be a tremendous volunteer to follow up with new converts. You would work well as an encourager with those who are discouraged and as a counselor in a drug or alcohol program, rescue mission, poverty program, half-way house or runaway ministry or in a shelter for abused women and children. You could also use your gift in organizing or serving in a Men's or Women's Ministry.

So what is your spiritual gift?

What I'm Writing About Right Now

Philippians 2:17-18

But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.

I have just one more chapter to write. So far, it's been easy to just flow right through 5 chapters. Now is the hard part: choosing what to end with. As it turns out, there is a lot in the Bible about joy. Which is a good thing. But hard to put into 6 weeks. How do you choose between essentials of joy? :)

What has stood out to me so far is Psalm 31. David says he rejoices in God's unfailing love because God sees his troubles and cares about the anguish of his soul. How beautiful. Even in anguish (David said tears blurred his eyes and his soul withered), David rejoiced because he knew God could see him and he knew God cared.

Snowy Sunday

This morning, we woke up to a winter wonderland. I was supposed to sing at church, so we woke up early to cart me to practice. But alas, the wonderland overcame our SUV, which got stuck smack in front of our house. We got about 6 to 8 inches at our house, while the rest of the Springs seemed to get about 3.

So, unable to get to church, we did the next best thing and snowshoed to Starbucks. Mike and I think it's pretty dang cool to live in a place where we can snowshoe from our doorstep. And how modern of us to snowshoe to Starbucks, rather than the post office or Jed's General Store.
Now that it's getting cold, all the deersies in our neighborhood are developing thick coats, and looking so majestic. Here a a couple of adolescents Mike stumbled onto this week.

After we were able to dig our car out, we went to a Chocolate Festival at the Broadmoor. (We couldn't get out for church, but we could get out for chocolate? Seems suspect.) We made a beeline to all the chocolate samples and stuffed our little faces like Veruca Salt and TV Mike. It didn't take long to stuff our greedy bellies to the point of exhaustion, and then we had nothing left to do at the festival.

So we partook in our favorite pasttime, crashing fancy hotels. We read magazines in comfy couches.

And warmed our tuckus' by the fire.

Tonight we had a worship night at church, so I did get to sing after all. Now we lay in bed reading Jane Eyre. A good day, on all accounts.

Being a Mom in El Salvador

Occasionally, Compassion sends a couple of bloggers on trips to the developing world so they can write about their experiences and share with others. This week, a group of bloggers has been in El Salvador.
I've been loving reading their posts, to hear their fresh perspective. Here's a post I read today that really communicated what I so wish I could sometimes communicate--how much we have and how blessed we are in the little things we take for granted every day like a shower.

(Oh and speaking of how we have so much, here's a video of Jimmy speaking about some people who live in this huge nice house, and yes that would be Mike and I. It's at around minute 4, I think. (For clarity's sake, I feel I should inform you that we live in a house that isn't quite 2000 square feet; somewhat modest by American standards.))

I'll have the Truffle Taglioni for $585

A receipt from a restaurant in New York for dinner for 6.

What I'm Writing About Tonight

Psalm 31:7-9
I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love,
for you have seen my troubles,
and you care about the anguish of my soul.
Have mercy on me, Lord, or I am in distress.

Habakkuk 3:17-19
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.