Names

I woke up this morning thinking about the idea that all through the Bible--Old Testament through New--names are significant to God. (God had Adam name the animals, God reveals his name "I am" to Moses, God sends an angel to tell Simeon to name his son John.)

But the really intriguing thing to me is when God actually changed people's names. In Genesis 17, God tells Abram, "No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations." In verse 15 God continues, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah...I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." (Note that this is when they were childless.)

In the new Testament, Jesus changes Simon to be heard to Peter Rock.

It occurs to me that if you know the stories of Abraham and Peter, you might notice that the change in name has to do with what they most wanted. Abraham and Sarah desperately wanted to be parents. I'm assuming Peter wanted strength because the stories of him reflect a lion's heart but deep, deep fear which prevented him from staying the course. (ref. walking on water in Mt. 14:22 and his denial of Christ in Mt. 26:75).

The God who spoke the universe into being, changed their names and made it so. What is interesting is that the clue to their true identity had to do with what at the core of their hearts they most wanted.

I think that is true of all of us. That clues to our true identity can be found in what we long for. I also love it that God throughout history has worked in the business of transforming men from who they are to who they were always supposed to be. I think this morning was the first time I noticed that "who they are supposed to be" was evidenced all along by the longing in their hearts.

Three product reviews...

This weekend we went to Sears and purchased a Bissell Quicksteamer Powerbrush. It is small and light, so I wasn't sure if it would work well but it did a wonderful job on our living room floor, and is compact enough to whip out to clean spills and spots as they happen.


The next thing I tried this weekend was Celestial Seasonings Tangerine Orange Zinger tea. I'm a big fan of Celestial Seasonings--with Bengal Spice being my all time favorite. This new Tangerine flavor is absolutely stunning iced with lime.

Finally, we have a pleather loveseat in John's office. (Don't laugh. It actually looks good and is very vegan.) Anyway, I was really disappointed when we got a split along one of the cushion seams. We tried the Mighty Mendit that we picked up on the "As Seen on TV" aisle at Walgreens. And....it worked!

So that's it. A weekend of product reviews.

TaDa!

Reflection

The Hush Sound has a beautiful song called, You are the Moon. When I was meditating this morning, it started playing in my head.

You don't see what you possess, a beauty calm and clear
It floods the sky and blurs the darkness like a chandelier
All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and seas
The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe

I will bring a mirror, so silver, so exact
So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass
I will set the mirror up to face the blackened sky
You will see your beauty every moment that you rise

The goal of meditation is reflection. Just like the moon reflects the sun, so we reflect God's image.

I started thinking about the difference between the reflection of a clear lake, and the reflection on choppy water and it occurs to me, the goal of meditation is a clear lake.

Selah.

Let the Smack Talk Begin

It's that time of year again. Time for FANTASY FOOTBALL. And, as you know, fantasy football isn't about players, stats or any of that other stuff.

It is about...

...wait for it....

SMACK TALK!

And, since I'm in first place this week, I got to start dishing it!

Woo, hoo. Take that. Yo mama....

Knowing your friends

One of the great things about good friends is that you know all of their idiosyncracies.

For example, Nancy-the-Insightful always moves her ring to sit on top of the other one when she is trying to remember. So, I typically ask her about it when I notice.

Today?

She is trying to remember to pick me up in the morning for breakfast.

Great system, that.

A silly thing to be giddy about...

Yesterday, while John was out playing softball with a prison ministry group he's part of, I spent the afternoon reorganizing the pantry. Well, it didn't actually start out like that. It started with me moving some things on the cabinet to make juicing easier in the mornings and wound up with me yanking everything out of the pantry and starting from scratch.

Though projects like this aren't fun in the middle of them, they feel so good when you are finished.

So, I took a picture to share my joy of a well-spent Sunday afternoon. (And so I'd have a blueprint a year from now if it denegrates into chaos again.) Of course the real payoff of getting things organized is in the evenings when I'm tired and making dinner and it becomes abnormaly frustrating when you have to spend even 30 seconds looking for something that you need.

Organization! Wheeee...

Simple Vegan | Elsa's Mom's Salsa

As a Texas girl, I'm pretty into salsa. Over the years, I've test driven tons of recipes with varying ingredients...lime, comino/cumin, onion, cilantro, etc. But when I had salsa at Elsa's it was the best I'd ever tasted.

To my surprise, it was also the simplest. Here is what you do:

Step 1. Put 5-7 whole Roma tomatoes in a glass dish along with 3-6 jalepenos with the stems removed. (Depending on how spicy you like your salsa.) I typically throw all from the refrigerator to the bowl then rinse it all at once to be speedy.

Step 2. Put the lid on the dish and put in the microwave for 5 full minutes. (This is the part that really brings out the flavor in the jalepenos and tomatoes as they steam inside their own skins.)

Step 3. Pour contents into blender and add salt. (If you like you can also put in a clove of garlic, but trust me...nothing else.) Pulse a few times in the blender. (You don't want it to be too liquidy.)

Step 4. Enjoy.

You can serve still warm, or put in a jar and keep in the refrigerator. (It remains good for about a week.)

Mmmmm....

Live Anyway

While on vacation last week, I watched A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crow. (Amazing actor.)

The story is of John Nash--a brilliant mathmetician who suffers with schizophrenia. Basically, the drugs which control the halucinations, also inhibit his ability to think. He gets off the drugs and simply lives with the schizophrenia. Though there are often imaginary people in his world--he refuses to acknowlege them. Every day. And he carves out a life for himself.

I wonder how many of us have the courage to do the same?

Which parts of your life do you have on hold because there are "imaginary people" you have to ignore?

Understand they aren't literal...but you probably do hear voices. You know. The ones that tell you that you aren't good enough. That you aren't attractive. That you aren't smart. Or fun. Or whatever your particular voices happen to say.

It takes a stunningly brave person to ignore them. To "live anyway."

I love it that John Nash did. And his were louder than most.

Overheard Yesterday

Rhonda (of the comic strip pantyhose): So Bethany, have you learned anything working at the sushi restaurant?

Bethany: Yes. That people will pay a lot of money for raw fish.

An unlikely cyclist...

My cycling started with a conversation at a GDA meeting with Kit Ratcliff.

We were sitting next to each other at dinner and I asked him what he did the night before.

He answered, "I rode my bike around downtown Dallas."

As the story unfolded, I learned that Kit--who happens to be one of the most personally committed environmentalists I know--has a Brompton bicycle which he had ridden to the San Francisco airport, folded up and checked, then unloaded at DFW to help offset his carbon footprint from flying.

I was so inspired by the joy he expressed telling about his evening, that I was in. The idea sat in the back of my head for over a year as I determined the Brompton had a large price tag for jumping in as a new adventure.

So as I investigated bicycles, I landed on the perfect thing...a beach cruiser.

After all, I'd been pretty intimidated by my searches on websites. There were so many options. So many differentials that it sounded really difficult to get into cycling. There are helmets and clothes and water you wear on your back. Plus, everyone I know who is into it, is WAY into it--so they are intimidating all on their own.

Beach cruisers are easy. Most don't even have gears. And you sit up. AND they have coaster brakes. It's like the bike you loved when you were six...upsized. (Just after I ordered mine, I read a design article about a gear manufacturer in Japan--Shimano--who actually created the Beach Cruisers specifically to that premise so that cycling would be appealing to a larger percentage of the American market.)

So, here it is. My new Micargi Rover. Initially I had dreams of bicycle commuting, but since then I've learned that I am really slow. (It took me an hour on the test run.) So, I've settled for running errands or simply riding for the joy of it--like Kit inspired me.

Today, I ran a particularly joyful errand...I rode to the post office to RSVP for my friends, Shane and Michelle's wedding. They are getting married on John's and my anniversary. Will be fun to celebrate with them. (Don't you love it when good things happen to people you care about?)

So, that's me. The unlikely cyclist. Having a blast. Just like when I was six and had a white basket with hot pink daisies on the front. You know, I bet I could get one still...

My Week as a Designer | The Big Reveal

So, here is what the finished product looks like. And the best part is that Bethany actually likes it. She said it looks different than she imagined. That she was surprised it was so simple. And that she really, REALLY liked it.

It was nice to already have a bedroom set to build around. The IKEA Malm bed and dresser set a contemporary flavor for the room without a lot of effort. The challenge was finding a color pallet that would blend the tan wall, the black chair and Sunny's painting for a "client" who isn't crazy about earth tones. The layers of light blue help keep it "happy."

As for living my life as a designer, though I love the room and was glad to do it, there is NO WAY I would ever want to do this full time. Way, way too much shopping.

My Week as a Designer | Art

I probably should have mentioned that it was a painting by Sunny Raschke that hatched this whole plan for my week as a designer.

Sunny's painting, "The History of Shoes" was perfect for Beth--who has a deep love for both heels and flip flops. I bought it at ArtLoveMagic's Girl Show.

Though the idea started with the painting--my color pallette for the room departed from it, so I created these little squares to bridge the color of the wall, the painting and the curtains.

The shoes as art were an idea from the beginning. I went to the $9.99 shoe store (or as one of John's clients calls it, The Hoochie-Mamma Shoe Store). The shelves were a major buy from Big Lots and the frame was a custom that was returned--so I got it for an outrageous deal at Michaels.

The art piece over the headboard was created with album cover frames I picked up at Michaels (for half price!!) and diecut scrapbook paper. (Hanging them even and level was not a bit fun. So glad John helped.)

Stay tuned for THE BIG REVEAL...and mostly...what Bethany thinks of it all.

My Week as a Designer | Storage

Probably the biggest challenge to this room makeover is creating additional storage while maintaining clean lines for the look I'm trying for.

One thing about Bethany is that she has A LOT of shoes. I went to the "As Seen on TV" aisle at Walgreens and picked up the shoe saver--which though we are using it turned out to be a bust. The storage is cheap and floppy--not nearly worth the $9.99 I paid for each of them.

Target produced a win with it's Itso shelving cubes. A single cube made a perfect nightstand for the Ikea bed Bethany already owns.

My other exciting find was also a repurpose of sorts. Beth had a magnet board filled with pictures. But the thing about magnet boards is that you typically fill them, then never really change anything. (The board had looked the same for the past three years.)So I folded up all of the mementos and boxed them for her, then transformed the board into accessory storage over her dresser.

Magnets serve as posts for hanging necklaces. A magnetic paper clamp holds her hat. Magnetic spice tins (from Ikea) serve as storage for hair clips and earrings making the board highly functional and customizable.

Stay tuned...two days until THE BIG REVEAL...

My Week as a Designer | Shopping

Okay so I just realized why I would never EVER want to do this as a day job.

You know where the majority of the time goes for an interior designer? It isn't the sketching. Or the painting. It's the SHOPPING. Five stores. Three returns. One bedspread purchased online.

I know I'm a girl and this is supposed to be fun....but I'm simply not a shopper. No. Not at all.

Jody...you actually enjoy this???

My Week as a Designer | Painting

Well, the first step to any room makeover is a plan. And I sort of have one. Sort of...

Here's the thing...part of the reason Bethany never did her room herself was the chip chart. Let me explain...

My friend, Jody--a real-life interior designer--recommended creating flow in my house by painting from a single chip chart. It would give me variety while keeping continuity. [Sidebar: Jodi works with Redo! an affordable interior design firm in Dallas. They will even come redo your room simply using stuff you already own.]

Anyway, Bethany didn't think it was possible to design something she'd like off the chip chart because she's not that into neutral greens. (Of course, whether or not I can pull this off still remains to be seen.)

So, a trip to Sherwin Williams to pick up some "favorite tan" and the room is transformed from nondescript to a rich warm color.

Tomorrow, the saga continues...

My Week as an Interior Designer

Each year, on Labor Day, I take the whole week off on vacation just for me.

The point of the week is to live my life as if I would if I had no other responsibilities. I've lived my week as a writer, as a vegan, as a stay-at-home-mom and as an artist. This year, after copious amounts of Clean House, Dress My Nest and Trading Spaces, I've decided to live my week as an interior designer. (C'mon...you'd like to do this too.)

AND, Bethany has graciously offered up her room. No strings attached. So, plans are underway. Stay tuned!

On holding things loosely...

For some reason I was thinking about how the systems in our bodies are designed like pumps. Lungs pump air in and out. The digestive system pumps food in and waste out. Blood is pumped through a closed system--but there is still exchange on a cellular level of in/out. (I'm actually curious if the nervous system is a pump for energy and scientists just haven't sorted that out yet.)

As long as there is flow, our bodies work beautifully. But any stoppage creates a buildup of waste and consequently disease. If there is catastrophic failure of a pump system--we're done. Nothing good comes in. Nothing bad goes out. Failure.

We see it in nature. Moving air and water create life. Stagnant air and water create disease.

I wonder if the pump design doesn't actually work at a soul level.

As humans, we want to keep. It's the reason souvenier stands are successful. (As if for pocket change, we could take the ocean home with us.) It's the reason we buy things from infomercials. We aren't buying a plastic resistance band, we are buying the hope that we could keep the body we had at 20. It's the reason people pay large money for celebrity tchotcke's--as if owning The Boss's jeans would make you friends.

What if we shifted from a position of ownership, to a position of enjoyment?

After all, sunsets are transitory. There is no expectation to keep them. They are completely different every day. If a cloudy sky produces a disappointing sunset, you just have to show up the next day to see what happens. It might be spectacular. And they happen in stunning rhythm.

What if we approached life like a walk in the woods? Passing and enjoying what we find there instead of feeling the need to camp forever--or to pack it all up and take it home?

If life were a pump, we would enjoy what came and not try to stop the flow. We wouldn't grasp after what used to be or toward what hadn't passed through our hands yet. We would take nourishment from the beauty of the now and dispose the waste. We wouldn't become distorted by the stoppages and infections of hording and holding on.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure life was designed as a pump.