Bloomin'

It's been quite the year, 2014. 

Ups and downs.

Fun and discouragement.

Joy and grief.

Exhilaration and exhaustion.

Moving twice in 14 months will do that to you. 

Leaving loved ones behind--1800 miles behind--will do that to you.

So I find myself jumping on the "my word for the year" bandwagon.

Bloom.

God has planted us here, and here we shall bloom.

Until the next uprooting.

But there is joy to be found and life to be lived.

People to know and new beauties to discover.

Hello, 2015. 

Light

Thoughts and feelings, rumbling about inside, a bit scattered and confused, angry and grieving. Thoughts for my precious friend,this sister of my heart, who has found herself in the midst of a trial, a sifting full of heartbreak.

 Prayers have been going up without ceasing for days on end. Insomnia filled nights provide more opportunity for pleading with the heavens.  Every thought of my friend and her beautiful family is followed by a true, heartfelt entreaty. Deliverance, Father. Justice, Lord. Protect this well-deserved reputation of integrity, refuse to allow lies and conjecture to be seen as truth. To be the victim of one bearing false witness...so devastating, so unfair. Above all, please keep untruths from becoming public knowledge. Please, God.

As the days have gone on, the lies have been made known. In these days of social media and online reporting, news (particular that of the bad variety) spreads like wildfire. I admit to an initial response of, "What the heck, Lord? We believed you for deliverance. We believe you for justice and protection." Yet He allows this to go on, to happen. Ugly comments online, people acting as judge and jury before all of the facts are in, believing the absolute worse of someone that I love and care about. So, so hard to take. Impossible to accept. Yet there it is. So where does that leave us? Why do we pray? What's the point, Father??? Why does the worst possible scenario have to become the actual scenario??? Why does the darkness get to score so many points???

I'd love to be able to claim a non-angry response to all of this nastiness. Alas, I cannot. During a few hours of sleeplessness, however, I was reminded of another injustice--an injustice that occurred centuries ago, and led to death. Our Jesus knows of injustice. He has felt the heart wrenching grief and anger that come from being falsely accused. He knows. Enduring the absolute worst case scenario brought light into the world. He is that light, our light.

Once the anger has passed and I find myself able to listen, I remember that we are citizens of earth, which guarantees each of us seasons of trials and tribulations, grief and anger, right along with seasons of joy. The Father doesn't promise to deliver us from every trial, but He does promise to never leave or forsake us. He promises to bring light to the dark places and make good come from the evil. He is a promise keeper. I choose to trust.

What Moving Tells Me About Me....plus a few other random observations

Moving Sucks. No way around it, it just stinks. It's exhausting physically and emotionally, especially if you happen to be gluttons for punishment and decide to make two 1800+ mile moves in a mere 15 months. (Whoa! Who in the world would decide to do that?????)  Anyhoo, here are some of my thoughts and observations from the past week or so...from my journal to your ears. I really just want to bless your day with my deep thoughts.

#1~I like to feel sorry for myself and cry sometimes because, you know, my life is hard. (Read that in a whiny, teary, privileged American voice.)

#2 (relates to #1)~I actually say things to myself like, "Suck it up, Buttercup, and get crap done!"

#3~Once I finally stop feeling sorry for myself and get to work, I'm task oriented and I can get crap done, y'all. Project ADD is not one of my weaknesses. Well, usually.

#4~I do not dust as often as I should.

#5~ I also do not vacuum under the couch cushions as often as I should. It's my prepper mentality. Zombie apocalypse?  No problem! Just raise the couch cushions and you've got meals for a week! (And pens, paper, bobby pins, hair ties, popsicle sticks, random wrappers, and dog hair.)

#6~Speaking of dog hair. I concede. I can fight no more forever. Trust me, owners of black labradors, you delude yourselves if you think you can win this war, armed though you may be with Swiffer, vacuum, and broom.

#7~I can deal with the chaos and disorder if my kitchen is in some state of clean. ("What? Oh, the world is blowing up around me?  I'll just go do the dishes!")

#8~When attempting two cross-country moves in 15 months, your precious possessions become the enemy. ("Are you absolutely certain we need that youngest kid? She does take up a lot of room with her yarn, books, and tea!")

#9~Taking a little time to sit, ALONE, with a cup of coffee and my journal, becomes a survival skill rather than an indulgence. Don't talk to me and don't deny me a few stinkin' minutes of peace in the morning. Unless you want things to get ugly.

#10~Rolls of packing tape and those tape gun things are tools of Satan.

#11~I only wash curtains when we move. Or when friends visit and their dog pees on them.

#12~Rugs cover a multitude of sins.

#13~Year-round warm weather = ceiling fans that are on year-round = invisible dust on the blades. If I can't see it, it obviously doesn't exist. Duh.

#14~I am obviously stalling by writing a blog post. It is time to get a move on.

I love y'all!

Practicing Grace

It's been a tough few weeks around here, folks. Big decisions being made. Career changes. Yet another 1800 mile cross country move. We are stressed, tired, overwhelmed, and sometimes thinking we might have a touch of the crazy. (Ok...maybe more than a touch.) Packing has commenced and, once again, we are living in the disorganization of preparing for relocation.

Emotions are all over the map. One minute thoughts are exciting and rosy--eager for the adventure of the unknown. The next minute brings panic and something akin to, "What the hell are we doing? Have we gone completely bonkers?" (Why yes, yes we have. But that's ok.) Unsurprisingly, we've experienced anger, hurt, fear, nervousness, worry, but every day is better than the day before as we grow used to, and embrace, the coming changes.

From the moment this craziness began, we made a pact. After 21 years of marriage, we know that stress can breed ugliness--words spoken that aren't really meant, fights that would never have happened otherwise, irritation over things that would normally be overlooked. So we made a pact to have grace for each other. Lots and lots of grace. Guess what? It's worked. Grace works. In those moments when an argument is imminent over some dumb thing, we've worked hard to stop and remember that this is stress talking. A long hug and a deep breath help remedy the ugliness, bringing a calm. Yes, I am proud of us. Life is hard enough. No need to worsen the trials with harsh or unloving words that accomplish nothing beyond hurt. Joy, peace, and laughter, even in the midst of stress. It's all about giving grace. To practice grace every single day, in every relationship and in every situation, is a goal worthy of our very best effort.

Love you, JP.  Here's to a relationship full of grace, love, laughter, and a touch of the crazy!

Change.....A Bit of Pierson Family News

There's another big change coming up for my little family. After much discussion, prayer, crying, nerves, sick stomachs, waffling, and more discussion.....we have decided to make a move to Boise, Idaho. Yes, I said Idaho. Jay has accepted a position there and we will be heading out of Houston in a month or so. 

We are, at present, experiencing a mixed-bag of emotions. While we've known for a while now that Houston isn't exactly the place for us, Idaho was certainly never on our radar.  My heart hurts to think of once again being so far from my family, but I also know that nothing ever stays the same in life and I am grateful for the past year.

There is much more to say, much more to this story, but for today, this is all I've got in me. Feeling a bit tired, a bit worn. Underneath it all, however, is hope and a burgeoning excitement. We asked God for adventures. He's delivering.

 So we move forward.

Dads, Daughters, and a Bit of Weirdness

As Father's Day was nearing, I kept seeing this video posted on my Facebook timeline. Not gonna lie, I find this video and others like it to be quite disturbing...and creepy. Then there are the incredibly strange photos of fathers and daughters taken at Purity Balls. Whoa!  Have you seen those???? Does this bother anyone else??? This stuff literally makes my skin crawl, people. Seriously. Just weird.

A few rather random thoughts on this...

I love my dad. He's always been a constant in my life, there with caring, support and encouragement even when we might disagree (to be honest, this can be quite often). I've never doubted my dad's love and affection for me and am so thankful for the unconditional love that both he and my mom always bestow on my kids. My parents are huggers, bless their hearts. :)  BUT when I hear people say things like, "You'll always be her first love," when talking about fathers/daughters, it just feels wrong. I recall clearly my first love. Those feelings I had for Alan White in 5th grade in no way resemble the love I have for my daddy, and are ABSOLUTELY not the same love I have for the hubby. If it was, I think we'd all agree, that would be icky. 

Dads don't date their daughters. They parent them. They love them unconditionally. They affirm them, firmly instilling self worth and self esteem, encouraging them to follow their dreams. They play and laugh with them. They take time to listen without judgement. They protect and cherish, and teach their daughters how to take care of themselves. They are dads, fathers. They aren't lovers or boyfriends. They are parents.

Stop it with the weirdness. Enough already.

The pops and I 

Only the Best Breakfast...Ever!

It's avocado season, y'all. Around our house, this means a whole lotta avocado eatin' goin' on.  So in the spirit of the season, I am sharing with you....The Best Breakfast--Ever!

1-  Go to your local Farmer's Market and purchase a yummy loaf of homemade sourdough (or, if you are awesome, break out a loaf of your own homemade sourdough).

2- If you happen to be lucky enough to live in an area where these delectable fruits grow, then by all means grab yourself a few avocados while at the Market. If not, head on over and grab some at the grocery store. (Here's a nifty little help from Food Network, should you be a bit uncertain about how to choose avocados.)

3- Get yourself some of this. You'll be so glad you did.

4-Gather your tasty loot, along with some butter from pastured cows. (If you've never, you should. It's crazy wonderful. Check out this post from Food Renegade about pasture butter. It'll change your life...in a good way.)

5-Toast up a slab of the bread, slather it in the creamy, yellow butter. Slice up your avocado. (How much is entirely up to you, and will likely depend on the sizes of both your fruit and your appetite.) Sprinkle with RealSalt.

6-Enjoy with a cup of black coffee.

Holy Moly! You are welcome.

Sassy

Jay and I were out and about last night. Being such a responsible parent and all, I texted the boy to see how things were going at the house.  I know....my kids are 16, 18, and 20 years old. Whatever. I was just checking on them. Geeeeeeez.

Note the sweet, thoughtful, "Hey,thanks for caring about us, Mom!" response from the boy.

Then, of course, there is my answer because I believe in using kind, respectful words. 

That's some stellar parenting right there, folks.

Notes

A few days ago, I decided to make a change in my kitchen. I moved the butter. If this sounds like an inconsequential decision to you, then it's likely you don't love butter or consume it at the same rate as does the Pierson family. Upon choosing this move, I realized it might bring about many questions (you know, such as, "Where the heck's the butter???), which could, in turn, start to be rather annoying to me. Behold my brilliant resolution to this potential problem....

This morning I woke up, perused Pinterest while enjoying a cup of tea, and thought, "Perhaps a piece of toast would be lovely."  So I headed to the kitchen, opening the cupboard that is now home to our butter dish, and what did I see?  Not the butter!  Instead, I saw a note. One note led to another and another and another. It was a quest. Brought to me by my oldest, who apparently stayed up quite late devising a scheme to bring consternation to his mother's morning. In truth, it was a funny start to my day. I love that goofball.

I did, eventually, find the butter. So all is well.

Here are the notes...

Marriage is Tough

Marriage is tough.  I'm sure we can all agree on this, especially given the divorce rate in this country. Some things have been on my heart lately, in part due to the realization that Jay and I will be married 21 years in April and were married at age 21. Wow. We made it. (Thank you, Jesus, because without you we'd never be together today. Truth.)

I have daughters, two beautiful, strong, brilliant daughters. I have a hardworking, fun-loving son. My prayer and hope for them is, and has always been, to know who they are, to live out a life full of God-adventures, passions and dreams.

Here is the honest truth of my heart...to my amazing daughters and my precious son...Be You. Enjoy your twenties. Be fearless. Race motocross. Fly airplanes. Study midwifery in the Philippines. Backpack through Europe. Travel to a developing country. Go out on a limb--way out of your comfort zone--with only God to hold you up. Do the things that thrill your heart, the things that move you to tears. Learn to serve the marginalized and love the unloved. Love justice and change your corner of the world. Jesus is enough.YOU are enough. You don't need a wife or a husband to make you whole. Live out the Father's plan for you so that if you do meet the "one", you begin that relationship knowing who you are.

I believe in marriage. Through all of the difficulties and hard times, I have grown to love and cherish my man. We aren't perfect and there are still days when I'd just as soon smack him as look at him. (Hey, just keeping it real.) Rarely does a day go by that he doesn't make me laugh, however, and I know that our next 21 years will be our very own God-adventure. But I cannot leave without saying this. I love my kids. I love my husband. I don't believe in regrets. Would I make different decisions if I were 20 again and knew what I knew now? Yes. I'd finish my degree, travel, sing, do the things my heart longed to do when I was in my twenties. And yes, I would wait to marry. Perhaps you married at a young age and you feel differently. That's ok. We all have our own experiences, opinions and paths to follow.

I read this blog post a couple of days ago (link here) and love this woman's perspective.  It's worth reading, particularly if you are the parent of a daughter. Love to you all!

Aaaand here's a laugh for all of you "old" marrieds out there...

from www.memeinside.com

More Than You Can Handle

The Father recently afforded us the chance to be a teeny, tiny part of a big, beautiful, difficult moment in the lives of the sweetest little family. Unable as of yet to have biological children, this couple had been in the process of international adoption when they unexpectedly received a life-changing call. A precious little boy, born the previous day, had no home to go to. These amazing young people immediately flew to Houston from Atlanta--nervous, terrified, excited, but willing to embrace this gift and love with all of their hearts. It just so happens that this new young mom is someone recently brought into Kyra's life through her travels. Who could have imagined that we would be able to take part in this, all because of a move to Houston and a trip to Rwanda?  Although our part was small, it was a blessing to be able to help a bit, to give encouragement and hugs, to see and hear of all the love our God was pouring out into the life of this little boy, born alone with down syndrome and no mommy to hold him.

As I sat talking to this woman, who was suddenly and unexpectedly a mother, I saw fear, exhaustion, worry, and stress, right along with the love. I was suddenly overwhelmed with a realization as I found myself almost spouting off a little Christianese and saying something like, "You can do this. God doesn't give us more than we can handle."  Struck by the realization that sometimes, perhaps even all of the time, God does exactly that--He gives us more than we can handle.  It's called life. Life is more than we can handle.  All of these trite sayings that we like to spout off, you know the ones..."Let go and let God." "The Lord works in mysterious ways." "Everything happens for a reason." All of these are to me, quite honestly, neither helpful nor true.

This is what I know to be true. Life is hard, even the beautiful things can be full of adversity and trials. God isn't the author of the ugliness, the grief and heartbreak, the bad things that devastate this world. Being human and a citizen of earth means that we'll experience these things. The amazing truth of the Father is His faithfulness during it all...the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Perhaps a better way to respond to the difficulties in life is to acknowledge the hurt, the fear, the grief, the worry and then remember this...
 

Books for the Little Bitty Ones

 


While out shopping for a baby gift this weekend, the girls and I happened upon the stinkin' cutest baby board books ever.  Seriously.  If you need a baby shower gift, or if you have little munchkins of your own, these are a must have! A series of classics made into darling board books, these are filled with wonderful illustrations inspired by the original stories. Stinkin'. Cute.
Check out the website here, but be forewarned...you'll want to buy one of everything.

I want to buy all of them and keep them, but am having trouble justifying that expense since my kids are 15, 18, and 20.  Hey, wait just a minute--someday, in what better be the VERY distant future, I'll have grandkids! I'm off to Barnes and Noble...