what i spend my "free" money on

When I have a little extra money, I never spend it on pedicures and this is somehow odd to some of my school friends. But I have things to do with my money! Like see movies, for instance, because I love movies! And buy used books--there is little I love more than a good used book store and $10 in my pocket. I also like to hang-out with friends--so some of my money goes towards eating out. And of course the biggest expense is travel--because, if i could, I would travel every month or so to a new place outside the U.S. for the weekend. So--in case you were ever wondering--that's what I spend my "free" money on. Not pedicures, tanning beds, gym memberships, new cars, or outdoor gear :)

roots

When you get married, everyone figures you'll put down roots somewhere. You'll move to a small town, get involved in a church, befriend people at work and people that have the same hobbies as you. We did that. But the problem is, our roots seem to be dying and moving away--not us. In past two years, two of our closest couple friends have gotten a divorce, and one of them has moved away. Another couple moved to Florida, and one of our best guy friends moved to Asheville (though it's close, we still don't see him that often). And then there's the people we meet during the summer and love, but leave during the other three seasons of the year. Oh--we have also had a pastor change while we've been here--they also moved away. And now that I think about it, our first music leader and his wife moved too! Our roots are disappearing right and left, and we feel as if we have stayed put, and yet we're constantly starting over! Lately, with Dave's job ending, we've been looking at other places for jobs. Every time I think about it, I think, "But we'll have to start over," but then I realize I've already started over about three times since we moved HERE, I should be a pro at this now. For example, I love my new friends at school. We text and FB chat and hang out all the time! But what if my contract doesn't get renewed next year; it's pretty certain we really wouldn't see each other that much, considering I don't work in the town we live in. Or Dave--who's really bonded with his fellow employees this year, and now they are being dispersed to look for new jobs--again--he doesn't work where we live. It's exhausting! It almost makes me not want to try! What if i get close to these people and they have a nasty divorce--you say i don't have to choose, but they are gonna make me choose between them when new relationships crop up (i know, been there done that with a few of them already). There is nothing more rewarding than being in true fellowship with people, but it's almost like getting broken up with when circumstances change and relationships dissolve! I don't like it--and I don't really have an answer, but starting over all the time really sucks

i believe...in fairies?

not so much, but that would be great. I would like a cleaning fairy, and a chocolate fairy, and a lesson planning fairy.

During the sermon at church the other day, I started thinking about the line I draw when it comes to "faith." I put that in parenthesis because I feel like people often use "faith" as crutch to be lazy, indecisive, and unappreciative of the abilities they already have. For example, people say, "When God wants me to have a job He'll give me one." Really? So THAT'S why there are millions of people out of work--because God doesn't want them to have jobs? Don't get me wrong, I do NOT believe that, "God helps those who help themselves" (possibly from Ben Franklin...but probably quoted by him from someone else). However, I do believe God creates us as mostly capable human beings, with brains, gumption, and sometimes common sense. So SOME of the people who do not have jobs may not be trying hard enough (on NPR the other day there was a guy who put in about 100 applications a month minimum to finally find a job--now that's REALLY wanting a job), but others just may be down on their luck. So where does using what God gave you, and faith come together? Well, I think we do what we can, work hard, love well, connect with others (maybe one of the hardest things to do), and live in faith that WHATEVER happens, God will be there to see us through it. Faith is not believing God will make everything work out the way you hope it will, it's believing there is something to still hope for when everything falls apart.