Closet fan

Is it wrong that the posts from these sites are often the highlights of my day?

icanhascheezburger.com

awkwardfamilyphotos.com

If it's wrong, I don't want to be right.

Am also a huge fan of this lady:

Rachel Zoe

I can't help it. I'm addicted to Bravo reality shows.

Quiet Mind

My life has been in turmoil since those last few months of wedding planning. Okay, maybe not turmoil. It's just messy. I keep thinking it'll settle down. You know, "Once I get all moved in, I'll be able to relax." Or "I just need to get the kitchen organized." Then "I have GOT to get this office/spare bedroom put together." Just when I think I can sit down to enjoy my life, something ALWAYS comes up to get in the way. Another opportunity to support a high school student or encourage a friend or whatever other good thing comes up.

The other morning I was reading Authentic Beauty, by Leslie Ludy. It's not my usual fare, (I tend to avoid teen self-help-y books, because (A) I'm no longer a teen, dangit and (B) they're usually too sugary-sweet for me), but it's been sitting on my desk at work for ages whispering "I'd be a good resource for teaching the high school girls. They need me. Read me..." And I've discovered that I really like this book. Yes, it's all sweetness about princesses & Princes, but she's so good at clearly stating what we should expect from relationships. Especially with ...boys...

But that's a whole different post. Leslie included this quote from Amy Charmichael's book, A Quiet Mind:

"Having a quiet mind is not a question of choice—if we are to go on at all, we must have a quiet mind. All too many Christians break down, not because of their circumstances, but because of a weary, fretting spirit too rushed to dwell in peace."

Oh man! is this something I want for myself. I want organization & cleanliness & contentment. But more than all that, having a quiet mind & a peaceful heart is my dream right now.

Photo © Me

What have we been up to?

Today we had brunch with a friend then went straight to My Man's sister's house for the T3's third birthday (All four of their kids' names start with T. Thus, they will henceforth be referred to as T1, T2, T3, & T4. Easy, no?) Two get-togethers. Twice we were asked what we've been up to. And twice we looked at each & said, "What HAVE we been up to?" It all comes down to: Homework (My Man), housework (me), real work, youth group. Oh, and we've been a little under the weather. Nothing exciting.

EXCEPT that we're getting really excited about some of the stuff the previous list encompasses. For example, we're getting ready to jump start the school year with the youth group, including mentor groups (aka Small Groups, but different) and getting back into teaching Sunday mornings. Along with our regular roles, we've begun the process of planning a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico, and we're totally stoked for it. I've been to Mexico several times since my sophomore year of high school, and there's always been a part of my heart that stayed there. So I'm really looking forward to showing My Man why I talk so fondly of my time there. And I know how my life was changed by MX. I can't wait to see how our students' lives might be changed! One of the sophomore girls has already expressed an interest in serving orphans. So, who knows? I just can't wait.

Here are some photos from my last trip to Monterrey. (Forgive the poor quality. I took them on film, which was processed poorly & scanned even more poorly.) i LOVE these kids!

All photos © Me

Tether My Heart

Last weekend I was talking with some friends about blogs. A friend asked if I had one. I said No. Errr, well, I HAVE one, but I've never posted anything on it, because I always got overwhelmed by not having the perfect thing to say. The very next day, I found myself telling the same friend she should just go ahead & write whatever on her blog, because readers (and potential clients) are looking for personality, not just the right topic or style.

And then I said something like "I have all these great ideas, but I never use them myself."

Psh. So, in order to not be a hypocrite, here I am, writing Something rather than Nothing.

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The phrase "Tether My Heart" comes from a line in the song "Let All I Do Be Praise," by the worship pastor at my church. It says "Tether my heart to Your Presence Deep..." A tether is either something that fastens to a fixed point, or is the "the limit of one's strength or resources" (from Merriam-Webster).

The image that comes to mind when I think of a tether is from Little House on the Prairie. The books, not the TV series, come on people. Every night, as the Ingalls family was traveling across the country, Pa had to tether the livestock. For each animal, he'd put a stake in the ground, attached to its tether. Yes, this was to keep the animals from running away, but it was also for their safety. Who knows what kinds of wild beasts might have been waiting on the other side of the fire light? And I imagine that if Pa looked over at some point & realized there wasn't any delicious grass for the cow to eat, he's probably get & move or lengthen the tether. He was a pretty compassionate guy...

What in the world does this have to do with my heart? Well, the things that tether my heart sometimes seem to hold me back from what I want (or think I want, right?). But they keep me centered around what's important. Sometimes, when I strain against a tether, the stake gets moved, and I discover something fresh & new. Other times, I'm pulled back in, and I realize it's for my safety. And yet other times I break free, only to discover that I want to go back to where I was before.

Now, this metaphor isn't perfect. Sometimes we're called to step out into the darkness on pure faith, and sometimes we're pushed into areas we don't want to go. But you get the picture. I love the lyric, and that's that.

I am tethered by my Lord, My Man, my family (immediate & extended, Lord help me), my friends, the high school students of Vanguard Church, just to name a few. And the experiences that accompany these people often turn into crazy fun.

Back to Fike's song—the chorus says, "I'll live my life as a story, that you'd be seen in my ways. And in the light of your glory, Let all I do be praise..."

So, read on as I share my story of the people, places, and things that tether me and give me wings.

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And because every good blogger knows, a post is nothing without photos, here are a few of My Man & me gettin' hitched...

All photos © Kortnee Kate Photography