Things I'm Thankful for from 2010

Well, as the new year approaches, I am thinking about all that has happened in the past year. I am very thankful to God for lots of things.

I am so thankful to God for being trustworthy. There are times when I have doubted God, but He has been true to His word. God is very loving.

I am very thankful to God for Brent. He is so kind and supportive. We match each other well. We are having good times together. And he has helped me with a lot of things, among other things, packing my lunches!!!

I am very thankful for our families. They have been helpful and kind, and they've been excited for Brent and me. Plus, we now have six nephews and two nieces! They are, each one of them, a special gift from God.

I am thankful for my coworkers, who have helped with my workload, and also who have helped me to enjoy my work even more.

I am thankful to God for giving Brent and me more friends. We have been able to meet people that we have a lot in common with, and it makes life more fun.

I am thankful for being able to live in America.
I am thankful for a heated condo and car.
I am thankful for food.
I am thankful for my kitties.

My New Name

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been away from the blog for a while... I got engaged, then married! My new name is Carrie Roos. My husband's name is Brent. We are having fun make our home tidy and cozy, especially with the cold season coming up! I'll try to get some photos up here of our wedding. It was the best day of my life. I loved having most of the special people in my life there, and the ceremony and reception were once-in-a-lifetime experiences for me. HA HA I wouldn't do anything differently if I had the chance.

The day before the wedding, whoever of the bridesmaids could make it went to the spa together. That was so fun. At the end, there was a fondue room with a chocolate fountain. Em got a little crazy!

Getting used to marriage is somewhat odd. I've had to adjust to Brent's snoring, along with other silly habits that are cute. I think my favorite thing is to see Brent when I wake up in the morning. And I like praying together, and also watching movies together -- we did that last night. Brent even cooks me breakfast sometimes, when we aren't in a rush.

I must say, I like being married. I didn't know if I would or not, but so far it's been very nice.

These past few days, my family from out of town has been here. Violet is looking older, John and Howie are fun as usual, with even more vocab and independence, and Justice is walking! Pax, the local, is also wowing me with all his skills -- talking more, climbing up into chairs, smiling and loving the attention of all of us. It's so wonderful to have nephews & a niece. And of course, I gained two more nephews and one more niece in marrying Brent. Our families are mostly local, so it's just great.

I am very thankful, especially as I ponder things in the Thanksgiving season, for tons of stuff. I pray that you too can consider what in your life, maybe up to this point, you have taken for granted, and genuinely thank God!

Violet with One Eyebrow Raised

Chreus & Paxie

Brent & Me at Tower Park in Peoria Heights

Funny Picture, HUH?

Going to the Tremont Turkey Festival in the Rain

This weekend, Brent and I went to the Tremont Turkey Festival. It was raining for most of the day, so when we got there, we were dodging puddles. The carnival workers were begging us to play their games, because we were the only ones walking past them. We went to get Turkey sandwiches. They tasted delicious, but the humidity inside the food tent was awful. Combined with the smoke of the turkey being cooked on huge grills right next to the tent, it was almost unbearable. We tried going in the merchant tent, and couldn’t stomach the humid, stale stench inside it.

Talk about odd. In past years, I’ve had a much different experience at this same festival. I guess the weather does play a huge role in the outcome of an event!

The Spicy Adventure of Eating Indian Food

Well, I visited my friend Stace last weekend, and we found some great Indian restaurants in the Minneapolis area. Of course, I got chai (tea) when I could, for some great memories of actually being in India and sipping the tasty beverage. We tried chicken curry, a spinach and tomato salad, Basmati rice, lemon rice, nan (puffy, bubble bread)… altogether, a really nice experience for both of us.

When my sister Em, brother-in-law Rob and I went to India, we sampled lots of different foods. At first I thought my stomach wouldn’t handle the food and spices very well, but it was actually much easier than I thought to adjust to Indian food. Maybe the fact that most of it was vegetarian was a plus. We stopped several times a day for “tea” (chai), which is typical in India, maybe because it used to be a British colony? While in India, we ate off banana leaves instead of plates or placemats. I bought lunch for eight people, and the bill only came to $3.00! Rob also ate raw coconut at one point. Em and I stayed on the safer side.

Tomorrow, I am going with my friend Brent to an Indian festival here in Peoria, at the Riverfront. We’ll see how the food is. Brent’s never had Indian food, so I will be happy to see what he thinks of it.

What about you, my friends? Do YOU like Indian food?

God’s Grace: Greater than All Our Sin

For those of us with a sensitive conscience, we need to often be reminded of God’s grace. Throughout history, the LORD has given signs of His kindness and forgiveness. As you read through Scripture, the Bible is replete with instances of God’s grace, shown in the oddest or most challenging of circumstances. As we walk through life, we can rest assured that God will grant us grace – believing in His Son is definitely worth it.

Believe in God’s promise of grace; don’t allow yourself to get caught believing that the LORD is a harsh, distant or absent God. His justice is there for those who refuse to receive His grace, but while there is still time, rest in His goodness and place your trust in Him. Grant Him your whole heart – He is worth it!

An Independent Spirit

Last night, my grandma and I went on a ride in my car. I know this is something she really likes to do, and I like it too. I love going to small towns and looking around. Sometimes it’s hard for me to understand what both of my grandmas must be going through, not being able to drive. I get around so easily, and they basically have to wait for someone to come to them.

I guess most people in our family, if not all, are pretty independent. My independence is something that I value highly. It is so fun to be able to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. Especially after work, I like doing something fun, since I am now on my “own” time. Whether it be going home and resting, going shopping, going to visit someone, going for a ride, I enjoy doing things spontaneously. I like doing things by myself. How about you?

The Power of Thankfulness in Enjoying Life

Being thankful is a powerful weapon against a depressing, boring life. Thinking of the things that are present in your life is a wonderful way to genuinely appreciate what God has given. What He has chosen not to give is not half as much as what He has given!

Sometimes we crave things that we cannot or should not have, for whatever reason, maybe a reason we will never know. But the things that are certain in our lives, present in our lives, we can enjoy and appreciate. Take a breath in, and stop and appreciate the beauty of the nature around you. Stop and experience sights, smells, and sounds that genuinely are amazing. Consider the beauty of the sky, the gentle breeze, the chirping of the birds, the green grass, the sunrise and sunset, the moon in all its splendor. Consider athleticism, agility, and beauty of sports and competition. Consider each person’s unique speech, interests, looks, etc. Consider your own human relationships and the joy they provide.

Thank God for what He gives us!

Reading the Gospels as Pictures of the Father

Recently, a friend of mine suggested that I read the Gospels, and have in view that however Jesus acted or whatever He said actually is a complete picture of God the Father, portrayed in the Old Testament.

This is fascinating. Jesus himself claimed, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” So it should be no surprise that the portrayals of God the Son

Take for example, the portrayals in John 2, when Jesus cleared out the temple. Jesus was actually holding back when he drove the money changers and animal sellers out of the temple. In John 8, He was revealing so much kindness as He passed no condemnation along to the woman caught in adultery. In fact, He spoke only a few words, and those were to only cast a stone if you had no sin. Jesus reveals the grace and kindness of the Father in new ways.

Think about Jesus meeting with the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. He had just risen from the dead, mind you, and they had no idea what was going on. He was content to give insight as to the significance of current events. Never mind that He had created the two men to whom He was talking!

Next time you read the Gospels, picture yourself as a bystander, and see how Jesus reveals the Father, Who is known through both Old and New Testaments. Breathe in His loving kindness!

Why I Love Springtime

Springtime is probably my favorite time of year, for several reasons.

First of all, it stays light longer. I love being able to go home after work and still take a walk while it is light out, or have the windows open on my main floor and feel the gentle breeze.

Second, March Madness comes on. I enjoy watching the college basketball championships. A cool breeze, lying on the couch with the sun coming in, you just can’t get any better than that!

Third, nature is coming back. Things get green and colorful again. Smelling the flowers at the Court House during my lunch break is like a small slice of heaven. Not having to wear a heavy coat is pretty nice too.

Also, Cardinals baseball is just starting to come on again. Wow. That is one of my favorite things!

Do you love springtime as much as I do?

The Role of Doubt in Knowing and Loving God

There are those who say that we should never question God. They say that to question God is to disrespect Him, or to second-guess His goodness and control over the events and circumstances of life.

Whoever says this should read the Psalms. These are poems in the Bible, and they are full of questions asked to God, of doubts, and expressions of despairing feelings towards God. The writers of the Psalms desire for God to answer for circumstances in their lives that seem inexplainable. The writers question God’s character, whether He is who he says He is, Good.

The writer of Job expresses similar questions and doubts. Job was a man who lost everything he owned, his family, and his health. The only person he did not lose was his wife, and she told him to curse God and die. The book of Job is full of why questions, and full of Job’s despair.

To question God is a healthy exercise. Events in life often warrant legitimate wondering about God’s control over and care for His creation. To doubt and to question means that I believe that God exists – I am exerting faith in God when I question Him. With an attitude of truly wanting to know, and a willingness to recognize our role as being created (not having absolute control), questioning God can actually end up leading to greater trust. Approach God as a child, seeking to know, and to understand. Listen for His answers.

At the end of the book of Job, God responds to Job’s questions and despair. He answers with His creative power, asking Job if He was around when the trees, the sky, the animals, weather patterns, etc. were created. He doesn’t give exact or direct reasons for the loss of Job’s possessions, family, and health. But the implicit understanding is that God can be trusted. His wisdom goes beyond our wildest imagination, just as His creation goes beyond our ability to comprehend.

Dear friend, you can trust the LORD. Ask Him your questions. Approach Him with the why questions in your own heart, maybe about your own circumstances, or about why certain things are the way they are. Tell the LORD you truly desire wisdom and understanding. Wait patiently for Him and listen for His answers… allow Him to reassure you with His compassionate love and deep wisdom.

The Gift of Being an Aunt

Being an aunt is much more fun than I had imagined. I love being able to be with my nephews, and almost be a kid again! I like to read to them, to play with toys with them, even to crawl around with the younger one, Pax. I like seeing each of my nephews grow, physically, verbally, emotionally, etc. Each nephew is different, but I love them all! It is wonderful to be an aunt.

My nephews like to read, eat, sleep (sometimes), play with toys, crawl, sit in the bouncy chair, and play at Grandma & Grandpa’s house. When my nephew John was in town, we took him to the mall to look around; he seemed to enjoy it a lot.

I have one niece or nephew who hasn’t been born yet. This one will be born in July.

Howie is the oldest nephew, then John, then Pax, then Justice. I hope as they get older that they can all be good friends! And love their mommies & daddies!

I hope if you aren’t an aunt or an uncle yet, you can experience it someday. It is simply wonderful!

Deep Breathing & Stretching Techniques

I’ve heard that deep breathing is supposed to help with stress and anxiety. You take a deep breath in, breathing from your abdominal muscles (not your upper chest area), and while breathing in, say a prayer, maybe to the effect of, “Lord, I breathe in your peace.” Then you exhale slowly, blowing, again, from the abdominal muscles, and say a prayer, maybe to the effect of, “Lord, I let go of…”.

I thought this sounded completely hokey at first, and would produce no effect, but I think it might actually help. The reason is that stress, anxiety and fear are not only emotionally based, but also have physical elements to them. When you experiencing anxiety, fear or stress, certain areas of your body are tensed up. Deep breathing and stretching will most likely help to reduce muscle tension.

When you experience emotional tension, try to identify which muscle groups are becoming tense. This is unique to the individual – different muscle groups tend to tense up with different people. These are the areas that you should focus on stretching gently ten times a day.

When you begin the practice of deep breathing and stretching, it may be hard to do, but it is good to do this ten times a day, regularly throughout the day. It may be while you are sitting at your desk at work, or moving around, as the case may be. It is not a long exercise, just something quick, yet relaxing at the same time.

Try it and see if you like it!

A Peek into My Struggles with Fear

To someone who struggles with fear like I do, the phrase, “Don’t be afraid” doesn’t really help. In fact, it tends to produce even more fear. What I would much rather hear is an explanation of what is going or not going to happen, so I can judge for myself if fear is in order. Or at least I would rather hear, from someone I trust, everything will be ok, that I have nothing to even be afraid of. Most of the time, even when I receive reassurance, it’s from people who have no power to change outcome of events anyway. Not very reassuring in the least…

Why does the Bible have so many passages stating, as a command, “Don’t be afraid”?

Could it be that I need to see who is saying it? When people in the Bible were told not to be afraid, it was usually by someone in authority – Moses, angels, even Christ himself. The people saying “Don’t be afraid” either had authority to do something about it, or knew someone who did. Those who say “Don’t be afraid” usually know more of the story’s end than the one who is afraid.

How could Christ have said, “Don’t be afraid” to men who were in a boat that was about to capsize? He had to have known more in the situation than they did.

I think when God asks us not to be afraid, it’s because he knows more than we do, and he knows that nothing has the power to seriously harm us, even the worst possible outcome – death itself. As the creator of the universe, is he worth trusting?

Something that’s really helped me with this is, believe it or not, a picture of two horses. I have a painting at home, and it pictures a baby horse nuzzling upward to her mother. The mother in the painting looks very strong. There is a verse with the painting, Isaiah 66:13, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” When I feel nervous, knowing that I can be comforted is a great help. When a mother comforts her baby, she usually has more knowledge than the baby. This is similar to God, on a much greater scale. He has greater knowledge of every situation. When he asks us not to be afraid, it’s not a stern command, but comforting strength.

Book Review: Getting the Love You Want, Harville Hendrix, PhD (Part 1)

I got this book from my sister, Marnie. She has had it for a few years in her collection, and she let me borrow it when I went to visit her in Texas. This book has several good ideas in it, so I hope to write a few entries.

One of the main ideas I caught on to is about communication between spouses. Even though I have no spouse, I think that the skills can produce good results with friends. Here are the basic ideas:

Communication often breaks down and leads to conflict between spouses. But with each time we communicate, there is the potential to produce positive results instead of conflict. We can feel very close to our spouse or close friend, and “commune” with them, as the author puts it.

He says that very few people actually listen to their spouse; instead, we are thinking of how we will respond to what the person is saying, or what we will say next that is entirely unrelated.

To have healthier communication, try following these three steps:

Mirroring – To mirror what someone is saying, you repeat it back to them in your own words. This ensures that you have understood what your partner is saying. Once you mirror your partner’s initial thought, you ask them to expand on what they initially stated, and then mirror that expansion back to them as well. Doing this will more often than not make both people feel that they are tracking together.

Validation – To validate what someone is saying, you basically say that you can follow his or her logic. It DOES NOT mean that you agree. But if you validate someone’s logic, based on his or her frame of reference, it tends to make the other person feel listened to, and understood.

Empathy – This last step is when you seek to express that you can sympathize with how the other person is feeling, based on his statements. Again, you are not agreeing with the other person.

When you engage in this kind of communication, Hendrix claims, you actually can distance yourself from your partner’s opinion, because you clearly see that you are following your partner’s line of thinking, not your own.

Once you follow this three-step process, you can express your feelings or thoughts about the other person’s original idea, and have them also follow the three-step process with your idea. Even if you end up disagreeing afterwards, both people will more likely feel closer because you have engaged in healthy communication, or communion, and have avoided conflict.

Retail Therapy 101

My sister Jennie frequently sends me out on assignment after a stressful day or days at work. She calls it “retail therapy” -- she claims that shopping will take my mind off whatever was causing me stress.

When she first recommended this as a way to de-stress, I would simply laugh and do nothing about it. What changed me was actually going on a few shopping trips with her and another of my sisters, Marnie. I started to buy into this kind of therapy, and found that Jennie was on to something. It was as if when I went shopping, my brain was releasing a soothing, destressing chemical. I thought, how can this feel so good!?

I now engage in retail therapy on occasion. As long as I limit myself to a small budget, I can usually come up with at least one fun thing to try on and buy. Yes, I usually shop for clothes, shoes, or something else I can wear. Perfume, earrings, purses, makeup… lots of things seem to do the trick. I try to find something I really like, so I don’t just blow money and regret it when I get home.

I thought I would put together a list of some of my favorite Retail Therapy locations – feel free to try these out, or add a few of your own, so I can try them!

• The Bobbi Brown makeup counter – I can only find these counters in the bigger cities, the quality of this skincare & makeup line is hard to match.
• Macy’s Department Store – I like just going and looking, smelling the perfumes, etc.
• Sephora – I usually go to this one if I am in Saint Louis, or another bigger city. My sister Bitz got me into this one with a gift card one Christmas. Tons of makeup & skincare picks. Mostly affordable.
• Banana Republic – I like a lot of the styles from this place; usually I shop the sale racks here.
• Charlotte Russe – This store is especially nice because the clothes fit, and they are well-priced to boot!
  

The Love of God

The love of God is like a blazing fire or like a calm wind. God’s love is to be felt and understood. It is to be breathed in, like a fresh breeze on a warm, sunny day. God’s love is to be enjoyed, like a yummy milkshake, or a fun song and dance. The Holy Spirit longs for us to know Him. He desires to be felt and to be in a relationship. He desires to be listened to. He knows what our prayers and our weaknesses are. And God’s people are those who have His thoughts, who breathe His breath. The Holy Spirit is a kind Presence, deep inside, even in one’s stomach or gut. He resides inside forever. He will never leave you.

Our deepest thoughts are worth being voiced to YHWH. He wants to know our thoughts, to have us express them to Him. His desire is to be close with His creation, with His beloved sons and daughters. YHWH placed Jesus Christ into human existence, to display His loving kindness. Breathe in His love for you. Experience His love first hand. Visualize the loving God – how does He make Himself known to you? Experience His love, flowing from the pages of the Scripture. Sense His kindness and compassion. God’s love and compassion are beyond human comprehension. YHWH’s loving power goes beyond our ability to conceive in our minds or even our hearts. Look at the expanse of the universe, of the weather, of knowledge… these, even with their awesome display, have no power to limit God. These are His creation, His genius.