Ways I know I'm getting older

1. I really enjoy talk radio.  Not the juicy gossipy stuff but the BBC news stuff.  On the way to my sister's house in New York I listened to talk radio for 2 hours straight.

2. My gray hair.  I have a significant amount of gray hair and the little boy I babysit asks me on a regular basis, "Bekah, since you have gray hair are you older than Grandma?"

3. I'm starting to care about politics and I crave watching the news.  

4. I like to get up and get my day started at a decent hour (note: decent doesn't mean 7 AM early).  In middle school and high school I thought there was nothing productive you could ever due before 11 AM on a Saturday.  Now I feel unproductive if I sleep in past 9.

5. Not only do I not know how to use advancing technology very well, I really have no desire to.  I feel like the next generation knows how to use my cell phone better than I do.  I actually had a dream last night that my future employer told me I was "out of date" and unqualified for my job because I don't know how to use twitter. I shutter at the thought of "proficient in twitter" going on a resume in 5 years.

6. I can say things like "ten years ago.." and "my generation..." to middle schoolers and under.

7. I look at children and say things like, "If I only had your energy..."


When did these changes happen?  When did I gradually start changing my perspective on things?  I used to look at adults and say, "You don't play with toys?  Your life must be boring!"  Now I love getting older.  Life just gets richer and richer.  With more pain and trials comes more joy and life.  Bring it on gray hair!  oh wait...     

Skiing...not so much

     This past weekend I got to go to Asheville, NC for a ski retreat.  Well, I guess it was technically a ski retreat but for me it was, minus the skiing and a retreat with great friends.  Why don't I ski you might ask?  Great question. Of course I have a story and a rational reason for my actions or inactions like I always do.

      Well travel in your mind with me to the West Point ski slop Christmas of 2010.  My Colorado blooded brother-in-law really wanted to go skiing for the day as well as other members of my family even though the West Point ski slope is just a mere innuendo of real skiing in Colorado. I have never been skiing since most members for my family have returned from youth ski trips with injuries.  Since I am so accident prone why would I ever go voluntarily do something where I am guaranteed to fall?  On a normal day that's walking up the stairs for me.  But, I have always been adventurous so I'm not sure why I picked skiing not to try.  I love anything on the water and heights but for some reason sticking fiberglass to bottom of my feet and flying down a mountain praying I have the control enough to not hit a tree or a person is just not appealing.

     Okay so back to my story as I remember it.  My brother-in-law said he would teach me to ski since he is an amazing skier.  However, I should have known that if someone is awesome at something they normally don't make the best teachers.  So I get pulled up the bunny huge slope and my brother-in-law (who I love I might add) mumbled something to me about just pointing my skis downhill and going.  Micah, I'm not sure how you remember this but I said something like, "Are you sure? Okay," and off I went without any real instruction.  I'm sure my lack of instruction was also due partly to my listening skills but that wouldn't make for a good story. So down, down, down I went.
    Thinking back to watching the winter olympics I followed what I have seen and tucked my poles and bent my knees not thinking about basic physics and gravity.  While looking like a pro I was yelling frantically, "HELP HELP HELP! MOVE! I CAN'T STOP! HELP!"  Then realizing that no one could possible help me I picked the best place to break my leg and crashed.  Okay so I didn't break my leg but I sure thought I was going to break something.  I'm sure you have picked up through my dramatic voice that this was a traumatic experience which I wish not to repeat for my safety and yours.  Trust me when I say you do not need me on the slopes. Count it as my public service to the skiing community that I abstain.  

Stirring My Affections

      Longtime no blog.  Once again I will blame it on my lack of pictures.  I have a pathological fear of my last semester as a student at Clemson not being documented by pictures.  I can't even remember what I had for breakfast an hour ago forget what I did last weekend.  Alas, I will continue to try to share my life with my family and friends even in the absence of pictures.

     I want to share a little about how my semester is going.  It has already been a month and everything is off running at full speed. (except my Relaxation and Meditation class...)  In the midst of everything God is teaching me to pursue His Joy.  At conference, one of the things Pastor Matt Chandler asked is, "What things stir your affections for God?" Chiefly we rest in the message of the cross.  We pursue the Creator over the Created.  But I never realized that even though that is true he still wants us to enjoy the created so that it will push us more to the Creator.  I think this would be a great thing for everyone to ask themselves so that we will live our life with more joy in the Creator through the created.

So here are a few things that stir my affections for the Lord which I'm sure are different than the things on your list.  Mock me if you will.  I have no shame in my dorkiness.

1. Planet Earth.  You might think the monotone voice is enough to bore you to sleep but o contraire mon ami it is absolutely amazing to see God's creation for hours upon hours in places that have never before been seen by the human eye.

2. Old People. Yep I said it.  I love seeing someone that has lived such a long life and is like a walking story book.  I just see wisdom based on their experiences oozing out and I just want to sit on a park bench and glean their wisdom for hours. There are few things more encouraging to me than to see an 80 year old following the Lord daily.
                             I love you Nana and Papa!

3. Learning about the human body.

4. Exercise.  I love exercising my body and knowing that God created it for us to take care of it.  He even created endorphins to release while we are exercising so we just feel better! I know exercise feels good to my 21 year old body and in 20 more years I might not have the same sentiments, but let me enjoy it while I can.  I have to be one of those wise old people eventually right? 

5. Cultures.  It is a constant reminder to me that truth is concrete but culture is relative.  God wants us to grow from contact with other cultures so we can get a more full picture of who he is.  

6. Traveling and seeing new place. 

7. Organizing my things.  This may seem weird but I get so much joy out of things having a place and looking pretty and put together.  It reminds me that God has provided for me and he has called me to steward all that he has given me.  

8. Fresh Vegetables. 

9. Coffee Shops with "character." duh I'm a college kid with a touch of hipster.  Just a touch don't go crazy.  

10. Change. I love change of any kind.  It can be putting my clothes in a different place or things I can't control like the seasons.  Change revitalizes me by giving me hope that I am not always going to be stuck in the same patterns but that God does change me and he is changing the world.   

So those are just a few things on my list.  I hope you will sit down a make a list yourself and make sure what you wrote down is a part of your life so that we all will have greater affections for Jesus.