Spice of Life

 I recently decided that it's time to go through my t-shirt drawer and get rid of some and save the special one's for my future t-shirt blanket that I might make someday...I feel the need to simplify my wardrobe so that it's not a big ordeal deciding what to wear everyday.  As I sift through all these shirts I begin to see a common theme.  I have a few "nerdy" shirts with Star Wars or Stranger Things references, I have a few that I've gotten at breweries we've gone to and then the rest seem to be making some sort of statement.  The shirts that are making a statement were pretty much all bought while we were in Iowa.  There's the "Stop Asian Hate", "Black Lives Matters", (something about how Jesus treated women) and how it's "our turn", "Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere", "Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History"...and so on.  I started to think about why I got so many shirts like ...

 Some people decide not to have kids until after they've started their "career".  Sometimes you go to college and still don't know what you want to "do" and you decide to start having kids then...(like me).  I have four kids and my oldest is thirteen.  I graduated from my undergrad about fifteen years ago and this year decided to go back to school.  Over the past five years I've been thinking about what I really want to "do"...at first I thought I wanted to go to massage school, then I thought maybe I wanted to get a degree in women and gender studies...then I finally realized what my real passion is for: social justice.  So, I started a certificate program with Harvard Extension School that I must complete within three years.  The other night my ten year old daughter asked me, "do you have to do your college over summer break?"  I said, "well first of all...it's not 'college' and yes, I'm taking a class over summ...

 Things I have noticed since beginning my Facebook detox and deciding to take a long "break"... -I have a renewed sense of hope in humanity.  Yes, I know that we still disagree about a lot and there is still a lot of "bad" things happening...but I don't have it constantly in my face, which is WONDERFUL. -QUIET.  I don't have a constant stream of negativity bombarding my brain, distracting me from the beauty around me. -TIME to sit down and play with and focus on my children.  To really listen to them without being distracted by notifications. -I can look at people around me and just look at them, without thinking about what they "posted" on Facebook or what ridiculous meme they re-shared....and I'm sure this goes both ways, they can just look at me without thinking of those things too! So far I am really enjoying this break.  This is not to say I will never go back but when I do, I will definitely have better restrictions for myself and I don...

 When I was in middle school I tried cigarettes for the first time and thought, wow, I could easily get addicted to this.  Turns out what I have gotten addicted to is Facebook and that is what they want after all.  I just finished watching The Social Dilemma today (can you tell?!).  For a while I have been struggling with what to do about Facebook and watching that documentary just clinched it for me, I'm done for real this time. A while after we moved to Iowa, I had what I like to call "the Facebook debacle".  I won't go into great detail but essentially I posted some things (mostly about Trump) that didn't go over well and I was "talked to" about it.  I was told that I need to tone it down because there are some people here that really like him.  The way I interpreted that was, I think differently and that's not okay...or at least maybe I should just keep it to myself.  If you know me well you know that I'm an open book and I'm not at all a...

 You read my title and might think, isn't that the same thing?  I used to think so.  My mom grew up a "Christian" and in her 20's she walked away for awhile.  When she started going back to church she kind of swung WAY "right", thankfully she has found more of a balance (and so have I)...but one thing that will always stick out to me from that time is her saying she knew she had to "look at Christ" and not his followers.  The name "Christian" has a long horrid history full of hate and oppression.  You might call me a cynic or negative but this fact is something I am actually studying in school right now and what I'm seeing more everyday is that nothing has really changed.  Sure, the oppression isn't as "in your face" as it was in the 1500's and on but the systemic racism is in our roots and we need to dig it out.  I'm not just talking about racism here either as just a general hatred.  Isn't Jesus all about l...

  When I was in high school I had the opportunity to go to Mexico to help build houses for a family in need.  I did this trip with my church youth group all four years of high school and I’m convinced it impacted my life just as much as the families we were helping.  Until then I had only crossed one “border” into a different country on a trip from California to British Columbia with my mother and stepfather.  I was about ten and we stayed in Victoria, Canada.  Fast forward to my freshman year of high school and preparing to make my first trip to Mexico.  We would be going in association with an organization called Amor Ministries that according to their website “provides mission trip opportunities to Mexico to build houses alongside families in need”.  In the Spring we made our trip and stayed in San Diego before crossing the border into Tijuana, Mexico.  California is quite a diverse state which adds to its beauty.  Once you get to San Di...