Move Over, HGTV!

I had a grand time this morning finally getting to one of my long-procrastinated jobs: reupholstering chairs! The chairs are antique and were a wedding gift from my parents. They bought them for a good deal from some friends who were moving abroad. Our very talented friend Christian restored them so that they weren't so rickety (but still left the sort of rustic look that I like). Months ago, I bought fabric to cover the seats, and finally had an urge to do the project today! Here's the transformation:

The fabric all ready to go, the five ugly chairs awaiting their make-over.

Before...ugly, gross, mismatched, stained seat-covers

In progress...the backs always looked so bad after my clumsy stapling, so I was always amazed to see how beautiful the fronts were!

This particular seat had three different fabrics on it...why the cute blue sunflower pattern was covered with that ugly plaid I will never know...but I removed a layer to give the staples more grip. Ripping up the fabric had a strange satisfaction to it.

After! Look how gorgeous they are! I'm so proud of my first upholstering job!

Purty purty! Add a little Scotchguard, and we will be home free! I also plan to buy removable seat cushions, for the dual purpose of leaving the fabric nicer longer, and for cushioning our bony butts...the foam on the chairs now is very thin. 5 chairs...perfect for three future kids...right? :-P

 Now...if only we get could get the apartment looking as pretty and put-together as these chairs...I unfortunately have little hope for that! My plan is to not say anything and see if Cooper notices the change when he gets home from work today (and don't worry, I'm not the type to be offended if he doesn't). This could be amusing...

New Blog!

I've started a book review blog! The twist is, I'll be reviewing books, secular ones as well, within a Christian framework. Please visit and follow it! No reviews up yet, but you can read the "About The Blog" and "About Me" sections if you like. Find it here! http://www.thesoundofpages.blogspot.com

Cooper might be going to Moody Bible Institute!!

Short one today...if you all could be praying for Cooper and I as we figure out life direction...Cooper needs to take classes to stay in the job he likes right now, but wasn't that thrilled with anything offered locally. So he's looking into an online Masters certificate program (not MA) through Moody Bible Institute, which is located in Chicago. It's something that sounds really cool for him (and I may "take the classes" with him...that is, read the stuff he's assigned for my own enjoyment), but it's definitely a lot of money. There are some scholarship options and the like that we are looking into (we don't want any more loans!!), and we know that if this is God's will for us, the money will come through. Please be praying that, if it's God's will, that it will come through, and that Cooper would be able to take some classes and even eventually work towards a degree (which would require a relocation to Chicago but that is WAY in the future yet, if it happens at all), if that's the direction he decides. This all came up pretty quickly in our lives (so don't feel like you're just now hearing about it...we are too!) but sometimes God works that way and we're confident that He has only the best planned for us, no matter what happens. Thanks all!

Reading for Jesus?

It is really easy to find websites and other resources for Christian reviews/warnings about movies and music. Pluggedin Online is one of my favorites when I want to see how much moral liberty a film has taken. Music reviews are not something I need as much, because I have my tastes (mostly Christian rock and folky stuff anyway) and it's just a lot easier for me to turn off something that sounds questionable. But as an avid reader--often to the point of obsession--I have not found a good website out there that reviews mainstream fiction. There are plenty out there, like Discerning Reader, that review Christian non-fiction and fiction, and some mainstream fiction that has implications for evangelicals (like The DaVinci Code and The Shack, neither of which I've read but have heard are pretty horrible) but very few I've found that give me an idea of what mainstream books are "profitable" and I wouldn't be embarrassed to have Jesus catch me reading (a personal litmus test of mine). I love to read Christian fiction, and do quite a bit, but since Christian fiction is only recently moving away from Amish romances and clean-cut modern-day parables, I quickly tire of what I find to be mediocre writing and predictable stories and want something more...well, literary (for a full tirade on this subject, go here.)

As an English major, and having plenty of high school AP and college literature courses under my belt, I was introduced to plenty of the literary. And it wasn't always good. In fact, sometimes, despite the high caliber of writing skill, notoriety and historical importance of the book, it was very bad; bad in the sense that the authors promoted disdain or even outright hatred for Christian values, celebrated moral dissent, and put forth dangerous ideas that have arguably contributed to the decay of Western civilization. I think of authors like Lord Byron, Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf, Richard Wright, and others who definitely had important things to say, but whose personal lives spiraled into such debasement and rebellion against God that those "values" cannot but help turn up in their writing. And yet, their works are taught, praised, and celebrated in secular academia, without any thought or question as to what they were really saying and the lifestyles and paradigms they were really promoting.

That is true of the so-called canon books, and that is true of literature today. Whether authors are writing popular, best-selling page-turners, or quieter, more thoughtful novels read by book clubs and taught in modern literature classrooms, we've got the same problem. And what are Christians to do? Not every Christian can attend a private Christian college where these books are analyzed through the lens of Biblical discernment or rejected outright for the evil they promote, nor should every Christian do that! And when I'm looking for something interesting, and maybe not Christian to read, I don't want to get 20 pages into a novel only to find myself wrapped up in graphic scenes of violence, sex, bad language, or messages of rebellion and humanism. What we watch, listen to, and yes, read, does effect our thinking which eventually manifests itself in our actions and lives. As Christians, we've got to realize this and be very careful what we allow our senses to ingest.

So how do I know, before I buy a book or check it out from the library, what I'm getting myself into? Yes, I can read the backs or the book jackets, or a few pages in (and I do), but those never tell you much. But I'm craving something more, Christian perspectives. I want someone with a Biblical perspective on life to outline, maybe even spoil a book for me, so I can know whether or not to spend my time reading something that may or may not be profitable for me. Just like Pluggedin does with movies.

Thus far, I haven't found that kind of resource available. Does anyone know of one? If so, can you direct me to it? If not, I may make it myself, maybe a second blog. :-) I can't be the only one wondering about what dirt may turn up in the next novel they're interested in reading. So am I crazy, or is this a legitimate need?

Anniversary Trip and Resolved 2011

Outside of the London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ. I think the fact that it's there is ridiculous.

London Bridge, fortunately, not falling down.

I know this looks like an attempted model shot, but I was actually just trying to keep my hair out of my face.

He wuvs me. :-)

Taking back roads can definitely afford some interesting sights. The mailbox at the top says "Oops" which I think is very apt for more reasons than one (the first being: who would want to live out there long enough to need to receive mail?!)

Mexican food in fancy Palm Springs. We split a dinner, since it was pretty pricey.

John MacArthur! And the ridiculous number of people at Resolved!

My lovely friend Helen, braving borst at a sandwich place. Personally: not a fan of beets.

It was great to see our friends Patrick and Helen!! Love you guys!

JD once took a picture of a license plate with my name on it. Returning the favor, Jota De!

Blurry picture of our black widow guest at the condo. We opted not to kill her, as she didn't seem to have any interest in going inside.

PGA West golf course. I literally got this shot by stepping outside on our patio.

Better and cheaper than a hotel! Praise the Lord!

I'd take the condo over a hotel any day...

That's actually Tiger Wood's signature. And this was hanging in the bathroom. Not the place I'd choose, but cool nonetheless.

Summer Days, Drifting Away...

I realize that my blogs are few and far between, considering the fact that I don't have any cute baby pictures to post or funny kid stories to tell. Oh well. Life plods a long quite nicely and God is always faithful.

Summer has come! Oh summer, how I love you! I love the sun, the warmth, the sandals and shorts, the damp, sweet smell of the morning air (I'm up early enough to experience it), and even the wind we've been having hasn't been too terribly awful (though it has made wildfires a real danger). I love cookouts and hiking and watermelon and corn on the cob and swimming. If it could be summer all the time there would be no complaints from me. Alas, it is always a short season so I am determined to enjoy it while I can.

Cooper has begun his internship with Arizona Monuments, which is part of the National Park Service. He really likes it, and we both feel slightly more secure with a second full-time income.  If nothing else, paying the rent isn't as much of a drain. And the uniform looks cute on him. :-) We're hoping that he can keep the internship through the fall, which would require him to be in school part-time to keep it, but that might be an okay trade-off if staying in the position and getting experience may give him a leg-up  into a permanent position. Prayers for this would be appreciated.

I am still working my receptionist position. It's slower in the summer in some ways and busier in others (like filing. I think I have filed hundreds, if not thousands of files. Utter tedium!) I'm in the process of applying (again) for an academic advisor position. I had a phone interview and waiting on an in-person interview, assuming they liked me enough this go-around. I think the process might move a little slower considering we have 2-3 new student Orientations throughout the week that take up advisor time. Again, would love prayers.

Cooper and I are three days away from celebrating our one year anniversary. It is mind-boggling how the time has flown by! But marriage has treated us both well, I think, and I know we are both growing so much as we muddle through life together. Muddling with another person is such a comfort, even if the fact that you are muddling doesn't change. :-) To celebrate one year of successful muddling, we are traveling next weekend to Palm Springs, CA, where we will enjoy Resolved, a great Christian conference. I'm very much looking forward to the relaxing time with Cooper and hopefully, prayerfully, a spiritual kick in the pants. Working and living in such a secular, anti-Jesus environment as this city can be a drain, so I'm looking forward to soaking up as much Jesus as I can this next weekend.

I'm writing again. I'm still working on this persecution idea that's been bugging me, though I've abandoned the one I posted on this blog and going with something else, which I may post later. However, I'll share the work with sympathetic people only; if you don't like my content, then you don't get to read it! I feel like I am slowly picking myself off the floor of grad school workshops, and am enjoying reminding myself that the books that I have the most fun reading do not usually contain the most experimental or ground-breaking writing (in fact, one of the books I was assigned in a grad school workshop of that sort was so confused and hazy that I wondered it got published at all), so I don't necessarily have to write that way, or please people I don't agree with in the first place. To one friend, I likened getting back into writing to getting back into exercising: really hard and painful at first, and not super fun, but easier and more fun the more I do it. Persistence is the key, I suppose.


In other news, I have been rehearsing for Hello Dolly!, as a chorus member. Musical theater is a new challenge but very fun! I have sorely missed performing from my dance and choir days. If you are in town, mark your calendars for the first two weekends in September and come see it!

I also had the amazing experience of seeing Les Miserables in concert in Tempe last weekend with my parents. It was a fantastic performance and I would give anything to be in it myself, except I would opt out of the Lovely Ladies scene and Master of the House. Slightly inappropriate. But the rest of the musical is wonderful and all about Jesus and what it means to please God and live a good life. If you haven't been blessed with the experience of Les Mis, do yourself a favor and find a DVD or CD.

A sample of the lyrics: Do you hear the people sing?/Lost in the valley of the night/It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light/For the wretched of the Earth/There is a flame that never dies/Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise/They will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord/They will walk behind the plowshare/They will put away the sword/The chain will be broken and all men will have their reward...

Could I enter heaven to that music? That would be great.

Don't Pay Attention To This One!

Go to this link instead! I think this guy is right on the money. This is a lot of what God has been working on with me lately. I definitely have this anger tendency because I go to a doctrinally sound church. Don't get me wrong, it is awesome to go to a church whose leadership handles the Bible with care and reverence, and the truth with awe and respect. But since even doctrinally sound churches are filled with "recovering sinners", we are not perfect, and our sin tends to lie in our pride over our doctrine. Anyway, I'll end up just summarizing the blog if I type much further, so go read it yourself, and please let me know what you think!

http://www.ordinarypastor.com/?p=7231