The Upside of Down
In the fifth grade I played an exuberant gym teacher in our school musical. (I’ll spare you the pictures of my toe-head afro and too-skinny self.) The play spoke of peer pressure and encourage drug-free living. It was called “The Upside of Down.” I didn’t know what that meant then, and I don’t know exactly what that means now.
Don’t worry — I have not named this post after the play because I want to experiment with drugs. All is well and we still just say “No” in the Dennis home.
But I’m on the upside of down today.
Jesus came to give us life abundantly (John 10:10). This doesn’t mean our paths will be lined with roses or that chocolate will rain from the sky. Life is filled with ups and downs. Life abundant simply means more ups and downs, higher ups and lower downs. The joy promised (Psalm 16:11), though, comes from traveling the roller coaster securely, knowing that a loving Father is in control and has our best interests in mind.
I’m on the upside. Life is good. I feel blessed, overwhelmed with riches and happiness and all things delightful.
At the same time I have several friends who are on the downside. They’re struggling with so many things that simply break my heart. I weep over blog posts and pray through conversations. I email and visit and pray some more. It is a privilege and an honor to share these burdens, and share them I do.
Someday soon it will be my turn. I’ll be on the downside and somewhere a friend on the upside will lend me her strength. She’ll pray with me and weep with me and we’ll lean on God together.
This family of God, this community built through faith, is a pretty cool thing.
Add comment November 12, 2009
Candle in the Corner
For ten years I have lamented the fact that I’m not a missionary. I went to school for it; I studied and trained and then everything changed. I got married and life didn’t turn out the way I envisioned. I felt God had promised me something greater, something better than life in the suburbs.
Once, during one of my moments of weeping over lost purpose, my husband asked me what I would be doing there that I couldn’t do here.
He’s right.
What would I be doing in Bosnia or France or Turkey that I couldn’t do here? We have poor. We have refugees. We have people who need to know Jesus right here in our backyard. Being a missionary isn’t about location.
Throughout this past year God has shown me how I can be a candle right here. Instead of seeing this time as a holding pattern before my life begins, I’ve begun embracing where God has me and seizing the opportunities I’ve too often overlooked. I’ve partnered with a number of missionaries and shared my heart with them. While they may long to be in the States, safer and closer to family, I long to be where they are. But God in His infinite wisdom has each of us where He wants us to be! They’re working for me there, and I’m working for them here.
They’re eating osh and rice and learning new languages while I’m eating hamburgers and pasta and learning how to build community.
They’re battling false gods of stone and wood while I battle false gods of vanity and affluence.
We face different challenges, eat different foods and work in different cultures, but our purpose is the same: to know Christ and make Him known.
Today is the LAST DAY for Heidi’s Candle in the Corner giveaway. If you haven’t entered, get over there now and do it. She has some fabulous gifts available, but best of all your contribution enables the Word of God to be spread throughout the globe. Already this event has raised over $1200!! I’m thrilled about this, but would love to see the total go even higher. Your five dollars can make a huge difference in the lives of under-supported missionaries in 12 different countries including Spain, Indonesia, South Africa and even here in the United States. These are the people who share the Gospel of Jesus on our behalf. Here’s a link so you can be part of it: www.MomsMinistryandMore.blogspot.com.
2 comments November 10, 2009
Status Update
I feel like I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been here and there, but feel my heart hasn’t been shared. There are many reasons for that. Maybe I should make a list. (Or maybe I should just ramble since that comes most naturally.)
We are entering Week 3 of the kids’ being sick. Z-dog (Yes, I’m calling him that again. He barks at me all the time, but his preferred name of “Snowball” feels weird since that’s my brother’s dog’s name, and I digress.) withstood bacon’s revenge quite well, but then The Girl got it. We thought she was all better, sent her back to school even. Then yesterday she came down with another fever. She can currently be found snoozing on the couch with a 101.5 temperature. Meanwhile, Z-dog is at school and the principle is probably looking for my replacement as Recess Mom. You know, there is a reason I choose to work from home and this is it!
I started a new blog last month. Technically, I started it two years ago, but didn’t have a set schedule for it until last month. I’ve been posting over there regularly. If you want to check it out, click HERE.
You see, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about blogging and purpose and passion. I’m sure there are posts to be written there, but the thoughts have not yet settled. Once I reach stable ground with those lines of thinking, I’ll let you know where I land.
I know not all of you are writers. In fact, I don’t know that any of you are! And I suspect few of you really care about passive versus active voice or which book offers the best advice for writing query letters. I doubt you find my grammatical humor funny and, aside from the “His love endures forever!” panties, none of you care about marketing. So, I’m trying to divide my interests a bit. Instead of tracking all my various endeavors here, I plan to keep my professional writing life there.
You all get to keep my random mom-wife-spiritual life here. Aren’t you happy?
Eventually I’ll get back to my Bookshelf, which I hate to admit has been neglected for months, but … well, one thing at a time.
In other news, I’m shaving again. Since the shower incident a few weeks ago, I’ve been a bit squeamish. Thanks to predominantly hairless genes (don’t hate me!) and blonde hair, no one — not even my husband — noticed the lack of blade use.
My granny never shaved. She didn’t have to! The only stray hair she grew (and I mean singular — ONE hair) was from her chin. She never had hair on her legs or arms. I’m told her hair was white even as a child. She was so funny. Oh, I miss that woman.
Oh, and I should fill you in on my etsy embarkation! It’s going well. 
Today marks two weeks that I’ve been “in business.” In that time I’ve sold five purses and taken two special orders. I’m struggling to keep my shop filled! I’ve also made two purses that I don’t plan to sell. They’re just too cute to give away. I’ll post pictures later this week. If you want to see what’s currently available, check out my shop: www.zaties.etsy.com.
Several people have asked about the name. All the names I really wanted for my shop were already taken, so I played around with my kids names. Obviously the Z comes from our Z-dog. The -atie comes from our Ellie. She has several nicknames and Kate is one of them. Thus, Zatie’s was born. It sounds better than ZellieLake or LisaBuke, which are other random name scrambles I could have used.
If you missed yesterday’s post, or if you’re a mayo-hater and chose not to read it, you’ll be excited to learn that I’m going “home” this weekend! I’m so excited. I haven’t been “home” to Indiana in over three years. That sounds terrible. I have visited my mama in Kentucky and flown her out here, but I haven’t had a good excuse to return to my roots, the little mapdot where I was raised, in a very long time. I’m thrilled! My mom moved back there the beginning of summer and this is my first chance to see her new digs and my old stomping grounds. I wish I could take the kids, too, but it will be so nice to have this one-on-one time with Mama. We haven’t had that in a long time.
I think this is enough rambling for one morning. This house screams for my attention. Happy Monday, y’all!
1 comment November 9, 2009
Recipe Swap Sunday: Broccoli Salad
Kellie, if you’re reading this, STOP NOW and go find another blog to visit.
Anyone else who hates mayonnaise, you may want to follow her.
Typically, I’m in your camp. I can’t stand mayo! Or ketchup, for that matter. There are few other things, too, like Cream of Mushroom soup, but I’ll spare you the whole list. Today’s recipe offends the mayo-haters, but I must post it anyway, and I’ll tell you why.
Friday is my mama’s birthday, and I’m flying out to visit her for the weekend. This is her recipe and one that my family (kids included!) requests throughout the summer. It goes especially well with burgers on the grill. Without further ado …
Mama’s Broccoli Salad
- 2 broccoli crowns, chopped
(3-4 cups) - 6 pieces bacon
- ¼ red onion, diced
- 1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¾ c mayonnaise
- ¼ c sugar
Cook the bacon until crispy. Drain and cool, then crumble.
Toss chopped broccoli, onions, crumbled bacon and tomatoes in a bowl. Top with mayo. Add the sugar gradually until it reaches the tangy-ness level you prefer. Mix well.
Note: This salad does not keep well. You can make it ahead and refrigerate up to 6 hours. After that, discard any leftovers.
3 comments November 8, 2009
I think it’s Wordless Wednesday
Does a post still qualify for “Wordless Wednesday” if it’s posted on Thursday? The blog was silent yesterday (thus the Wordless part fulfilled) and the photos were taken on Wednesday (that part fulfilled), so, yeah, I think we’re good!
Besides, after laughing at CPQ for thinking it was November 3rd, I reported to recess duty at the wrong playground because I thought it was Monday. Since I have no clue what day it really is, I think I’ll just stop talking and share some pics of my honeys.
Mama loves this! Oh, wait — it’s not Tuesday either! Oh, well.
3 comments November 5, 2009
Prayer Confessions
Some days I avoid prayer. It’s not that I don’t want to share my heart with God. It’s just that … well, if I were a superstitious person (which I would never admit to being), I would claim Murphy’s Law on prayer. It’s like a jinx. Or maybe the reverse is true: life seems easier without it simply because I have the lack of it as an excuse.
I realize this doesn’t make sense.
I’m not sure I want to try to make it make sense.
Consider this another one of those random thoughts posts where I spout a mostly illogical stream of consciousness.
Here’s the deal: on days when I forget to pray, things seem to go well. When they don’t, I simply say “Well, that’s life and I didn’t pray today, so what do I expect?” Somewhere in my mind’s gallery I dust off a cross-stitched pillow that explains it all: “Days hemmed in prayer rarely unravel.”
But prayer isn’t fairy dust. It’s not a magic combination of words that immediately makes everything better or easier. Prayer doesn’t keep my life together.
On days when I do pray, everything seems to go wrong. I feel overwhelmed. Deadlines have been missed, too many people call with demands, and the kids need more attention than ever. I cry out, “God, why is this day so hard? I prayed! I put you first, so why does this day suck so much?”
This morning Rick and I prayed. We rarely have time to pray together before he leaves for work, but this morning we did. I loved it. But then my day started just as Murphy would have predicted.
I prayed again. “God, please help me.”
I stepped back. I looked. I took one step at a time.
And everything worked out. It’s just past lunch and all the worries that clouded my morning have dissipated. They’ve all been dealt with and we’re right back on track.
What was it we prayed this morning? That we would be ever-dependent upon Him, that we would seek Him throughout our days and give Him all the glory.
Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayers. Thank you for answering them so quickly! You are a good and merciful God. You make all things possible.
2 comments November 3, 2009
October Ellie-isms and Zach Attacks
Me: “What is this fuzz? Are you growing something between your toes?”
Zach: “Um … yeah. It sounded like a good idea.”
Ellie: “Daniella has this same shirt! She wore it on Monday.”
Me: “Today is Monday.”
Ellie: “Yeah! That means me and Daniella are the same and that makes us dental twins!”
Ellie: “Um, Mom? What exactly is the point of apple-picking if we don’t actually pick any apples?”
Zach: “I’m pretending my underpants are an elevator.” (I’m sure you can imagine what that looked like!)
Ellie: “Boys have penises, but I have a ah-jine-ya.”
Me: “Vagina.”
Ellie: “Right. Vagina. Just like China. VAGINA CHINA!” (It was quite a victorious shout, kind of like a battle cry.)
Ellie: “T-Rexes eat meat. We are meat.”
Ellie: “What?! Mom, did you know that elephants have over 100 puzzles in their trunk?!”
Me: “You are not being nice. You keep kicking and hitting and kicking and hitting. You need to stop or we won’t play any more.”
Ellie: “Hey! That’s a pattern!”
2 comments October 31, 2009
Bacon’s Revenge
I would love to say I’ve been blog-less all week because I’ve been obsessively making book purses or because I’ve hammered the final three chapters to the next NYT bestseller. Neither would be remotely true. While I did have a dream about editing those chapters (yet to actually be written, plotted or even outlined), I have sewn very little this week. No, my time has been voraciously swallowed … kind of the way my son devours a pound of bacon in a single morning.
How appropriate, I thought, when Dale sent me this piece of flare.
Yup. It’s hit.
Zach tested positive yesterday morning and, as is his MO, immediately showed signs of improvement.
(I wonder if we really need medicine around here. I just threaten them with going to the doctor’s office and my kids instantly feel better.)
Until visiting the doctor, things were quite wretched. My rough and tumble four-year-old did nothing but lie on the couch in a semi-comatose state — his eyes glossy, his voice raspy, his energy depleted. This morning, though, he’s singing and playing trains and about 60% back to his normal self.
Everyone wants to know what it’s like. Since I’ve had first-hand experience with the H1N1 virus, I’d like to make a couple things clear.
1: If you catch it early, it’s not as bad as everyone thinks. Zach has had a high fever (103-104 the whole time), a headache and low energy. That’s it. We took him to the doctor on his second day of high fever, they tested him and gave us a prescription for Tamiflu, some signs to watch for and a couple Cars stickers for good measure.
The things to watch for: unusually high fever, sustained high fever, returning fever (it subsides at night but comes back in the morning), excessive vomiting (We’ve had none.), sore throat (This just started yesterday after they took a throat culture to rule out strep.), and acting “weird.” (That’s the official medical term they gave me.)
2: Treatment is the same as the regular flu: lots of fluids, lots of rest, chicken noodle soup and Tylenol, if you want it. The virus should work itself out within a week.
Now that I’ve quelled some fears and a little hysteria, does anybody remember Pox Parties?
I was so disappointed when I found out there was a vaccination for chicken pox! I had already planned to have a fun pox party with games and a pinata and all my friends. We could all infect each other’s kids together! Then no one would have shots, and we’d all feel better and have a good time doing it.
Anybody up for a Bacon’s Revenge Party? We could eat ham sandwiches, baby back ribs, and spinach salad with big hunks of bacon. I could even make piggy cupcakes. It would be so fun! Maybe we could even have tee-shirts made. Anybody game?
“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion.”
– Psalm 103:1-4 (NASB)
6 comments October 30, 2009
You gotta click.
Rick is very worried about me. He’s working from home today because he was up so late last night with the Yankees. (GO YANKEES!!!) He actually had tickets to the game, so that was super cool — PARTY BOX SEATS, thanks to some generous fella he knows through work. And, of course, I was up late kind of watching, but mostly debating if it’s okay to pray that your team wins when you know there are way more important things to pray about … like our country, our president, the starving children in Africa … Anyway, Rick has not worked from home on a Monday since the kids started school.
Mondays are different now. I know I have about three hours of uninterrupted, potentially productive time in which to accomplish everything in the world. This puts me in a mood Rick has never seen before. He’s a little scared.
Since I am in this mood, I’m not going to blog much, but I do have three things to tell you.
First, you have to see Kimberly Stuart’s blog post. (Have I mentioned how much I love this woman?) I cried! First from laughing so hard and then from sincerest compassion. You gotta click. C’mon, you know you want to.
Second, have you noticed the Candle in the Corner button in my sidebar? Starting TOMORROW Heidi at Moms, Ministry and More will be hosting the best giveaway EVER!! She, a missionary herself, is helping to raise money for under-supported missionaries around the world. By donating money, you’ll be entered to win various gifts from the countries where these missionaries serve. It’s kind of like a raffle except that all the money goes to help spread the Gospel! She has some really cool stuff, too — from Spain, Portugal, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, just to name a few. Click HERE or on the button to learn more. You gotta check it out.
And last, at the begging pleading threatened torture if I don’t encouragement of friends, I have opened an etsy shop! It doesn’t have much yet, just two listings and my fun logo — Isn’t it cute? — but more is coming. I have six book purses and one quilted tote waiting to be listed. I hope to get them all up this week, so click on over when you get a chance. At the rate I’m making these, 
I’ll probably have at least two new listings each week after that. Who knows? You might find the perfect gift for that special book lover in your life. You can find me at www.Zaties.etsy.com.
3 comments October 26, 2009
