the trashman

one of my favorite books is next door savior by max lucado. it takes stories from the Bible and relates them to today's issues, showing us just how real and relevant a relationship with Jesus Christ can be. it's one of the few books i have read more than once.

my favorite chapter tells a parable of sorts as a way of relating the significance of what Jesus did for us with His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. mr. lucado will hopefully forgive me for paraphrasing his story, one that i have found to speak to me personally, and one that i make a point to reflect on each easter.

the story begins with a woman who is carrying a bag of trash. it's heavy, it stinks, and she is very burdened by the task of carrying it around with her. when she gets tired of carrying it, she sometimes sits down to rest, but this is as unbearable as walking with the heavy load, as resting causes her to reflect on all of the contents of her garbage bag. she often looks in the bag, disgusted with what things she has placed in the bag, ashamed that she has so much trash to carry around. she is not the only one, of course. there are others around her who also carry trash, others who are tired, burdened, and miserable.

as she is walking, she meets a man. he offers to carry her trash for her, to take her burden away. she resists, too ashamed to allow someone else to carry her bag. what if it's too heavy for him? what if he looks inside and sees the pieces of her life that she is so ashamed of? what would he think of her if he knew? as much as she wishes she could be rid of the trash, there is no way she can risk giving it to someone else to carry. the man walks with her awhile, promising that he is happy to carry it, promising that he doesn't care what's inside, trying to reassure her that he is more than capable of bearing her burden. but she continues to resist. he eventually leaves her, but he tells her that if she changes her mind, he will be at the landfill at the edge of town each day, and that she is welcome to bring her trash there for him to take from her. she is skeptical, but holds on to his words and reflects on them in the next few days.

after several days more of carrying her huge sack of garbage, the woman feels as if she can no longer bear it. she remembers the man and his offer to take her trash if she will bring it to the landfill. after much thought and consideration, she decides to see if he meant what he told her. when she gets near the landfill, she is shocked at what she sees. there is a long line of people with sacks as large as hers, all waiting to give them to the man she met on the street. the man himself is standing on a huge mound of garbage, and is taking each bag from each person and pouring all of the trash in the bag onto himself. once a person's garbage has been poured out, they are free to walk, unburdened, lighter than before, with no worries for a heavy pack on their backs.

because of the long line, the woman waits for several days to get to the man. she is worried that he might change his mind when he gets to her. she is a good person, she thinks, but there are just so many things she should've done differently. still she waits until it is her turn. when it is, she cautiously hands her full garbage bag to the man. as he did with all the others, he lifts her bag over his head and empties the garbag out onto himself, taking away her shame, her fear, and replacing it with a freedom she has never known. her garbage blends in with the rest. she can't even tell what was hers, since she gave it to the man. as she starts to walk away, she realizes that all the ones who went before her are still there. no one wants to leave. they are so comforted by this man, his willingness to take their burdens, his ability to love them despite the trash in their lives. they all stay until the last person gives over his trash.

and then something scary and strange happens. as the last man's trash pours out onto the man, the man cries out with a loud groan and collapses into the now enormous and all-consuming pile of garbage. the crowd doesn't know what to do. they don't understand. so they wait. the sky gets very black and two days pass, and still they wait. they just can't seem to leave. on the third day of waiting, an even more strange thing begins to happen. the sun breaks through the dark sky. the pile of garbage begins to move. and the man slowly rises up through all of the trash to end up standing. standing! victorious over all of the garbage in our lives.

i know not everyone who reads this will share my beliefs, but this is what i believe. i am not perfect. i am so far from being like Jesus. but i believe that He died for me, to take away my sin, my trash. and i believe that He rose from the grave and lives inside of me, giving me hope, assurance, and guidance in my daily life. sometimes i don't act like i believe this. sometimes i do things and say things that don't reflect the love i have in my heart for this wonderful Trashman. fortunately for me, He still waits at the landfill, every minute of every day. and He continues to take my trash from me, begging me not to pick it up again after he takes it. i am so thankful for His love and forgiveness, and for the sacrifice He made for me. the same sacrifice He made for you.

happy easter.

i love my friends

apparently, i am in a list-making mood these days....
i am so grateful for the friends i have in my life. some of them are new, some are old (in length of time we've been friends, not in age...although if the shoe fits....). some are related to me and some just should've been. some i see often, and some i wish i could spend more time with.
they all make me laugh and help me remember who i am and why my life is good.

here's why... (and you know who you are)
1.   they have "name the wound vac" contests
2.   they play office uno (which is way better than regular uno, just so you know...)
3.   they impersonate dogs
4.   they buy my breakfast/lunch/dinner when i "forget" my wallet
5.   they let me cry on their couches, their shoulders, in their cars, on the phone...i cry a lot
6.   they make me run, regardless of my heart rate
7.   they tell me when i am being a biatch
8.   they make fun of the way i walk, talk, and drive
9.   they don't judge me
10. they have sick senses of humor at 3 o'clock in the morning
11. they make me feel less dramatic
12. they forgive me
13. they text me inappropriately during meetings
14. they enjoy my poetry
15. they let me borrow books
16. they listen to stories about my dogs and act interested
17. they eat comfort food with me so i don't feel so badly about eating comfort food
18. they play with my hair
19. they pick the restaurant when i don't want to
20. they call me in the middle of the night with stories too funny to wait until morning

my friends are the best on the planet. i love you all!!!

the best things about a bear (my husband!)

pay attention boys... if you've got a woman, she might like some of these!!

1. he picks up my shoes
2. we can have dinner at a fancy restaurant and eat slice-n-bake cookies at home, all in the same night
3. when i am sad, he takes me shopping
4. he still makes me mix cd's from time to time (you can't beat the mix cd...)
5. we can be in the same room, doing different things, and still feel like we are spending time together
6. he lets me steal the covers
7. he prays for me
8. he allows me to correct the grammar and spelling in his emails
9. he patiently answers all the "night questions"... on a nightly basis (ie: "honey, did you lock the doors? did you turn off the fireplace? are all the lights off? did you set the alarm? what's the heat set on?")
10. when i'm mad, he makes me laugh and i forget all about what i was mad about
11. he tells me when i am wrong
12. he tells me when i am right (note to self: be right more often!)
13. he likes it when i sing the morning song (if you're lucky, maybe you'll hear it someday... i have a song for everything)
14. he is as crazy about our pups as i am
15. he stays on his half of the bathroom countertop
16. he complains when my pager goes off
17. when we go to a mexican restaurant, he speaks to the waiter in spanish....with a japanese accent (embarrassing? yes. hilarious? double yes.)
18. he indulges my need to decorate, rearrange, redecorate, and rearrange
19. he actually said the other day, "all this scrapbooking stuff looks like it could really be fun!" (i promised i wouldn't tell, but i just can't help myself)
20. he gets along with my dad

these are just a few... i am a lucky girl.

living with the pup

we have a west highland white terrier. two actually, but this is about the cute one to the left, tucker. we rescued him a few years ago and can't imagine our lives without him. he does, however, have some peculiar habits. my favorite is his habit of hiding his food. he eats normal dog food, and we give him plenty of it, but for some reason, he feels the need to hide several pieces throughout the house, i presume to eat later in case we don't feed him? he has done this since we've had him, using the corners of rooms, the cracks of the couch, etc. but i have recently found a few new hiding places that i didn't know about.


i decided to clean the house today and found two pieces of food behind the toilet in our bathroom and one piece under jeremy's sweatshirt on the bathroom floor. while i was cleaning this bathroom, tucker came in to supervise and proceeded to "hide" the piece under the sweatshirt even more. this involves him moving the sweatshirt around with his nose, sort of like if he were burying the food in dirt. the piece of food remained visible the entire time, but he continued with the hiding until he was satisfied. when i picked up the shirt to take it to the wash, he rushed in, ate the piece of food, and rushed out. i chuckled all the way to the laundry room and laughed outright when i pulled the clothes out of the dryer. in addition to the clothes, some lint, and the common dollar or two, out fell three pieces of dog food. i am wondering if this was stuck in some clothes? or has my adorable little dog found a way to get in the dryer? maybe i left the door open...???

in any case, this funny little habit makes me laugh daily, just more than usual today. leave it to a dog to make you smile. westies supposedly live for 15 years or so...that's plenty of time to hide several meals worth of dog food!