Hurry Up And Wait

     Wednesday started at 3:30am for me. Actually, due to an impromptu game night with my mom and sister - and last minute packing - I was still awake by the time 3:30 came around. Around this time, Mom and I drove a little ways from the house to where Dad had parked the semi for the night, and we made my bunk, unpacked my things ext. Then we went back home where I was able to get a scant amount of sleep.

     I was awakened around 5:45am. Myself and early mornings DO NOT mix, but seeing as this was the start of my first trip in the semi, I tried staying awake up front while Dad drove – to commemorate the moment and all. My resolve died quickly, and, after getting in my bunk, I fell asleep in no time. By the time I awoke, we were almost to our first little stop at a terminal in Dallas. It was big, and full of trucks and people.

 Picture rows and rows of these - "Swift" is the company Dad works for

     The terminal had bathrooms, showers, a lounge with a tv and vending machines in it, and a place you can get your truck worked on or checked out. Walking around, I felt like I could easily be spotted as being an “outsider”, and found the crowded lounge too intimidating for my taste. (I'll try and be brave and get a picture next time) Therefore, I went back the truck and "hid".

      We had to stay at this terminal for 8 HOURS. Yep – you read that right, 8! The reason for this was, Dad was doing a "split sleeper birth". Which basically means he gets a ten hour break that he needs to take throughout his driving time, but he can split it up into two parts - an 8 hour break and a 2 hour break. He had used his 2 hour break in San Antonio, so we had the 8 hour one to do here. The prospect of finding things to do with those hours were daunting.

     Before Dad slept though, we took a short walk around - boy was it nice to get out of the truck and move!!

There was a little section of beat up trailers.

The fence-line we followed out of the terminal, here's Dad

After exiting the terminal, we walked down a road and came to a very strange open field with a mound of lush green grass right in the middle of dead grass.

It looked like someone had dumped a concentrated amount of Miracle Grow, not to mention a pile of extra dirt, on that one strip:

It was quite deep and lush!

Me and the steroid grass!

If I'd had a blanket with me, I would have been very tempted to take a nap out there...

     After the walk, the rest of the 8 hours were full of me sleeping or watching the tv in the truck. Since we didn't want to run the gas, the truck was turned off the whole time, therefore no ac. Sitting in the truck sweating, I couldn't wait to get out to cooler climates, because even though windows were opened, it was still pretty sauna like in there.

     We left the terminal close to 8pm and headed off to Oklahoma (we were making our way to drop a load in an area outside of Chicago).

     The truck itself is pretty comfy, the chair I sit in has adjustable air pocket things, and is springing – so it bounces with the bumps in the road.

     Oh, and to answer the question from Kailin, "What do truckers do to entertain themselves during all the hours of driving?" Well, in gernal Dad said, “I pass the time driving, by driving”. He explained that when your out on the road, you have to be looking for road signs, checking gauges and just being alert. (The semi is a standard car - so shifting gears adds to things to pay attention to). He does listen to music though, and, since I've been around, we've listened to Odysseys.

       I have noticed though, that almost every trucker I've seen at truck stops (including Dad) have a headset of some sort. So, even though phone conversations while driving is not wanted, I'm assuming some truckers make the odd small phone conversation here and there - via a headset of course. 

Prepare For Takeoff!

     This entry requires a little bit of back story.

     My dad has a diverse educational background - he has three college degrees: Chemistry, Computer Maintenance, and another computer-y one ;) He's been a self-contracting computer programmer for as long as I can remember. Rewind to summer '10 and dad decided to look into trucking. The appeal was that it'd be a consistent job, and after you've trucked for a certain amount of time, you can always hop back into it (Dad would still do computer work on the side).

     I was volunteering my summer at camp when mom told me that dad was going to go to trucking school. I remember thinking my dad had lost his mind, and was probably just having a mid-life crisis. Now, a year and a half-ish later, I can see that it's been an amazing fit for him. He loves trucking, and, oddly enough, my mom loves getting out and riding along with him (for upwards of a month at a time even!). Seeing how everything has gone, I now think that trucking is pretty great :)

     How does this pertain to me you ask? Well, sometime tonight, I'll be setting off with dad for a 2-3 week trucking adventure – I know, I might just be a bit crazy to try this. ;)

     The idea to ride along came about in the Fall, and only now did everything line up for me to be able to actually go. I've got my camera batteries charged, audio books downloaded, and bags packed. I'm pretty excited :)

     I'll be riding and living in the semi with him, it will be great getting to see close up what goes into this trucking job! It looks like the first thing we'll be doing is heading to a suburb of Chicago to drop a load. After that, where you end up is dependent on where they give you a load to, but it could anywhere across America! - this can make packing the right type of clothing hard! ;)

     While I'm gone I'll be blogging, taking pictures, and sending post cards – so expect this blog to be a little more active in the near future :)

     If you have any trucking questions post a comment with them, and I'll try and get it answered! That way this can be a learning experience for myself, and anyone else who has ever wondered what being a trucker actually entails :)

     Prayers for traveling safety is much appreciated!

An Overdue Update

     I obviously have problems with procrastination - sorry for the radio silence. Here's a little update on my life for y'all:

      I'll start it off with a bit of a recap: Last May I wrapped up my four years of college. The whole semester was a really bittersweet time, and leaving campus “for good” was very hard. I didn't have much time to think on the change though, because shortly after graduating I was spending my summer working media at His Hill Ranch Camp. It really was an amazing summer that I could spend an entire blog entry talking about, but I wont – not now at least.

     Looking back, it should have been obvious to me that August was destined to be the month where reality would be slapping me in the face. Just back from camp, I was a car-less, jobless, living at home again college grad – not something I was super excited about.

     In need of money, I went back to basketball officiating, not something I love; but hey, it's income. I was still doing photography, though I didn't have a whole lot lined up. (Just an August and November wedding).

     Wanting to glean more photography knowledge, I got up the gumption to email a photographer I'd met at camp. That photographer's name is Donna Gustin. She sent her kids to The Hill for camp, saw photos I had taken, and gave some really sweet comments about them. This lead me to think that perhaps she'd be game for letting me shadow her a bit to get an idea of how professionals run things. I got really excited about the idea – it seemed things were shaping up! I was reminded that God never stops working in our lives, even when we may feel like things have hit a dead end. He alone could have planned for me to meet Donna there at camp, and have it lead to me learning from her. Little did I know how big of a blessing this connection would be to me!

     Fast forward to now, and I've been a paid second shooter at two weddings with her, and now am a paid post production assistant for her – the fancy way of saying, I edit pictures for her. It's been such a wonderful job fit. I've gotten the chance to learn – a lot – and have been able to work on my photo retouch abilities (not to mention getting to use some pretty awesome software!)

So yes, even in this uncomfortable time of leaving my “college years” behind me, God has been faithful in leading me to where He wants me next :)

Brownies, Eggs, Coffee, and Bibles

      Let me prequel this by saying that the things I write about are almost always things I struggle with. So when reading this, just remember that - I don't have this all figured out, rather I'm working on the application of it :)

      I was just in the kitchen whipping up a batch of brownies (no, not homemade - but still good! :) As I was going through my normal ritual of "cleaning the bowl" (ie, eating the batter that never made it into the pan)  I suddenly thought about a friend of mine. See, this friend finds eating batter disgusting (cookie, brownie, whatever) because of the raw eggs in it. As I sat there I found something curious: I would never eat a raw egg, in fact the thought makes me slightly queasy, yet I've always loved batter. So how do I rationalize eating the batter, knowing the raw egg is there? I decided that since there are enough things in it that I like, it gives me reason to ignore the fact that something I'd normally avoid is in it too.

      Don't we seem to do the same thing with sin? An ugly sin, out in plain sight of everyone, is something we avoid, detest. Yet, when Satan mixes up a sin with a little something fun - perhaps even good - we partake, choosing to ignore the sin that we know is still there.

      It's kind of like with coffee. I don't really like the taste, but over the summer (due to lack of sleep) I would start drinking it mixed with hot chocolate - something I like. Little by little, I became more and more use to the taste of coffee - perhaps one day I may get so used to it that I'd drink it plain. In the same way, Satan slips us sins. First highly diluted ones. These then open the doors of us potentially getting sucked into bigger and bigger sins. We get used to the lifestyle/taste, and let our guard down.

      Lastly, this whole thought process made me think about ingredients, and the question: how, if someone wants to keep something out of their system, a person can avoid it? Answer: Look at the facts in the ingredient list of course!

       Many people read labels on food to see what is in it. They don't just take the item at face value (even if marketing people created the greatest logo and catchphrase). A conscientious person will look at the ingredients - see what is hiding beneath all the fun. This simple awareness of what we are really putting into our bodies can make the difference between a healthy and unhealthy person.

       Now, where does a person look to keep spiritually healthy? The Bible of course! Considering God created us, and has the best plans for us, it goes without saying that we should look to Him when we are trying to figure out what is really good. The world will "market" many things to us that it presents as good, but we must be vigilant to check the things that the world gives us against the truth of the Bible. This way we can avoid being taken down by the things of this world that can bring us a spiritually unhealthy place.

Change Anyone?

     I decided to consolidate some of the notes I've written on Facebook to this Blog - it's the organizer in me.

     I re-read this particular note for the first time in a while today, and God used words He gave me nearly 2 years ago to remind me of a lesson I still haven't quite gotten straight. I hope that even if you've read this before, God can use it to remind you as well.

____________________________

"Change Anyone?"

                  I was lying in bed – attempting to sleep, but my mind was going a mile a minute. I felt God was laying the following thoughts on my heart to be shared (something I too often ignore doing). So I climbed down from my loft, and typed them. Forgive me if it is choppy … but it is 12:34am ...

Change – it can be uncertain, scary, potentially painful, exciting, or hard, but to be changed for the better… well, that is always worth the cost.

          My roommate Melissa has needed a new glasses prescription for some time now, and a few days ago she finally got the new, updated pair. With her old ones she could see, but not sharply. There was a time those glasses were exactly what she needed, but time had passed, and new glasses were in order. These new glasses have sharpened her vision for the better, but now she must go through a transition time with them. Wearing the new ones gives her better vision, but also comes with discomfort and coordination issues as her body learns to adapt to seeing differently. Of course she could just go back to the old pair, the comfortable one, but she would then be missing out on all the beauty in this world that she could be seeing clearly.

          In my life it seems people usually resist big changes. Even with the knowledge that changes God intends for us are for the better, it can be disconcerting to see things differently – to leave something we are used to, even if we know it is for the better. But the longer we fight the change, the more we are missing out on...

If there are changes going on in your life right now - be encouraged, God is faithful ^_^

____________________________

 

     This message was pertinent back then because I was struggling with big life changes that were going on - by way of a relationship break up. God had to remind me that relationships can be used by Him for good, but also sometimes must be let go of for the better. This message is pertinent to me now because I've found the transition from college student to adult to be something terribly daunting.

The cover for an old Overflow album captures how I've been feeling best:

     I've always liked this picture. It looks so silly, but I find myself acting like the fish in the bowl way too often. I need to embrace the changing seasons of my life, not be scared of them, knowing that each stage pulls me closer to what God has in store for me.

Fortune Cookie Bible

       I was thinking today about how I need to make time in my days for personal Bible reading - and I mean making consistent time, that I don't allow myself to flake on. Too often I fall prey to what I am dubbing the “fortune cookie” method of reading my Bible. When I feel like it, or on special occasions, I'll “crack it” and read a little blip of what it says. Then I put my Bible up and go on with my day.

       Without taking time though, I end up having devotionals that stay on my mind for a little bit, but as the day progresses I start to forget. (Not to mention, reading only little bits and pieces of Scripture also puts me at risk of getting things out of context, and that is never good.)

        It's ironic that back when Bibles where hard to come by (due to the fact that the printer had not been invented yet) people would go so far as hand copying any part of it they could, just so they could study and pour over The Word. Yet now, in America where Bibles are a plenty, people seem to care less. Is the fact that they are commonplace dulling us to the reality of what The Bible is?

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12

        God's Word was not meant to be read lightly like a fortune cookie, with a little piece here and a little piece there. I need to pour over Scripture till it permeates every part of me. To the point where in all my daily activities I meditate on what I've read, and apply it to my life. I cannot get stuck in this shallow place anymore. God calls us to a deeper relationship than that.

Of Kids And Playdough

    A couple weeks ago, I babysat two little kiddos. At one point in the day, we all sat around the table and played with Playdough (can you say awesome, and nostalgic!? :) Anyways, I wowed them both with my mad Playdough snake rolling skills - it was a hit. I'd roll them each a snake, they'd play with it, and give it back to me when it needed to be mended.

    Now, I realize some of you reading this may not be proficient Playdough snake rollers, so let me explain one thing: to make a good snake, you take some dough, and squish it together, making sure all the flaws (cracks and such) are out – then you'll be able to roll a nice long snake that will be more resilient to little hands :)

    So, back to the story: a funny thing happened, the smiling 2 year old would give me his cracking/breaking snake to fix; knowing I'd made it, so I could fix it. I'd then take the snake and mush it all together into a fresh ball again. When he looked over to see his snake being crushed, his little face would distort into a look of confusion and unhappiness. Motioning at me to roll it, not break it he seemed to say, “What are you doing, I wanted you to fix my snake, not kill it!?”. I tried to assure him that everything would be fine, but he just kept his eyes on the ball of dough, and did not smile again till he saw a snake being rolled out once more.

    This process happened several times, it made me laugh. How could he forget so quickly that even though I was destroying his snake, it was for the purpose of building him up a better one? Why wasn't he trusting me? I mean, he had seen me do it before for him... It hit me later, that I am the exact same way with God. I'll give Him things in my life that I want to be made better, asking Him to fix it. Sometimes though, God has to tear down, to be able to best rebuild. Then, like the little 2 year old, we forget all of God's faithfulness to us from before, and stay so focused on the things falling apart that we forget to keep trusting God's abilities to take the broken things in our lives, and heal them – even if we can't grasp how the process works.

    I decided I should take this Playdough lesson to heart, and next time I feel like God is allowing something to fall apart, to remember that He knows better than I, and life doesn't always have to make sense to me - I simply need to have faith that God is in control of life's changes. That should always be reason enough to not fret.

    I am a “fretter” though, so this is something I know I will have to continually work on.

Hebrews 13:5 - “...be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”