youcanjive's Xanga

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:27:38 GMT

I'm bringing Xanga back - drop a comment if you're with me!

HELLO WORLD!!!!

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:42:38 GMT

I just thought i would absolute FREAK everyone out by writing a quick post this morning! I feel that i have put my wonderful Xanga (thanks, Hil) to shame and can hardly believe it has been 5 months since my last post! Shameful, shameful....

Well, I don't have anything extremely enlightening to share other than, I read a good quote last night that we should: "Work as if it all depends on us, pray as if it all depends on God."

Ora et labora,

callie

Airports and Babies

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:58:17 GMT

I’m sitting at the airport in DC waiting to board my flight home. Usually the volume on television sets in the terminal are toned down and you have to make a concerted effort to follow dialogue. However, tonight the Cowboys are playing so I suppose they thought it fitting to honor the Dallas passengers with some volume so that they could more easily follow the game. A group just deplaned and I smiled as a cluster of men eagerly made their way into view of the television set just as the Cowboys scored a touchdown. Men and their sports! Now the men are cheering and groaning and clapping and pretty muchly bonding over bad calls and good plays. Haha.

I just spent a delightful weekend with my bestest friend, Becca, her hubby Drew, and 3-week old little Skye. It was great to see everyone and especially heartwarming to walk into their townhouse to note a baby pallet in the living room floor, pacifiers on the couch and the softest little stuffed animals and such here and there. Funny how a little one will change life forever.

I ruled Skye a “keeper” and decided that I just love all the little baby noises they can make, especially the squeaks. She is a doll and my only regret is that it will be a month before I see her again and she will have surely changed very much. I told her to remember me and to think of me every time she wears her new leather moccasins. I think she will.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:00:57 GMT

5 things in my (parents) freezer:

1. Chocolate Chips

2. Vanilla Blue Bell

3. Pecans

4. Coconut

5. A jar full of grease

5 things in my Room:

1. A stack of mail including a gazillion credit card offers

2. Bunk beds
3. A giant pile of laundry

4. Charlie the Dog
5. Dr. Seuss calendar

5 things in my car:

1. Starbucks straw wrappers

2. Church bulletin

3. Orange umbrella

4. Green jacket

5. Did I mention Starbucks straw wrappers?

5 things in my "backpack" (purse or something for the gals) whatever you want to call it:

1. Outside Magazine

2. Camera dock

3. Orange Sharpie

4. Computer adapter

5. White out

5 things in my wallet

1. Starbucks receipt

2. Drivers License

3. Debit card

4. A few coins

5. it's really a small wallet, not much else fits!

5 people I tag:

Whitney

Bonnie

Kim

Brook

Hannah

Life is good

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 22:42:12 GMT

I’ve decided that life is made up of hundreds of thousands of wonderful morsels of happiness – and that it’s best to enjoy each of them. These morsels can come in any number of packages and can be any variety of sizes. But large or small, they are delightful and should remind us to be thankful in everything. Some of the morsels are tangible (like my current Grande Iced Vanilla Latte), some are not (like the moment of heartfelt praise during worship this morning), but they are moments in which we can smile and remember that God is sovereign over everything and has created us to enjoy Him through creation (and as far as I’m concerned, the creation of vanilla lattes counts for a lot).

This past week I had many things to be thankful for including:

A mealtime prayer from my Granny
A sunrise and coffee with a friend
Charades with the cousins
A Good Morning Sunshine (orange juice/Sprite blend) at 10 o’clock
Chocolate chip cookies with lots of vanilla
A week of no Chinese food (the glory of which was offset by a particularly horrifying meal of KFC J)
A Friday night post-twilight picnic (during which we were attached by a host of bloodthirsty mosquitoes and where I exploded a bottle of Coke all over my pants)
A completed website
A phone call from a brother
Napping to an Andy Griffith
Ear buds and Leigh Nash at 3 o’clock
Lying in a patch of sunshine

I love the daily grind. I love rising early and taking the first shower, tripping over Bonnie as she tries to eek out a few more moments of sleep, colliding with Whitney in the hall, waiting patiently for the ironing board and vying for the hair dryer. I love gathering my things and blasting out the door to a morning coffee date and watching the sunrise. I love heading East, sunshine in my eyes, down my beaten path to work with all the other worker bees. I love that final breath of fresh air as I walk up to the office. I love walking inside and noting the freshly cleaned brass door-thingys. I love opening the office door and greeting the guys and the fish. I love checking my email and plopping down in the conference room for the morning meeting. I love bugging micah at 10:45 about what we are going to have for lunch. I love eating lunch with the guys and listening to Nathan’s amazing analogies involving apples and oranges and watching Sam spew over granite airplanes. I love marking down the quote of the day (usually from Billy, the good natured pessimist) and watching Domino and Blue madly feast on a smattering of shrimp. I love hunkering down and cranking up the tunes for a productive afternoon. I love it when the sun begins to burn into my shoulder meaning that it’s getting close to 4:00. And I love pulling away after a full day and heading west back home, once again, sunshine in my eyes.

Life is good. Doesn’t mean that it won’t ever be hard or painful, but it is good because each day is one that the Lord has made. And by george, I’m gonna rejoice and be glad.

Today I cried.

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:43:42 GMT

Today at church I sat next to a couple who I have become close to since my time at FWPCA. I first became acquainted with Judy in Bible study and then her husband Larry after learning that he was an Ironman (you know those crazy races where you run/bike/swim a total of like 104 miles). Last year he was excited to be racing in a new age division: the over-60's. One Sunday before his race last fall, I pointed to my Timex Ironman wristwatch and declared that I was rootin' for him. Since then, each time that our paths crossed, Larry would give me a big hug accompanied by a "Hey, Kiddo, how's it going?" "How's your new job?" "How is your grandmother?" "Is there anything we can pray for you about this week?" They were genuinely interested in my little life and I in theirs.

This morning from the pulpit Pastor announced that Larry has colon cancer, that he'll be going through chemo for 6 weeks and then have surgery. I already knew about this from an email that Larry had sent a few people in the church last week, but hearing the prayer need from the pulpit made it more real. Judy and I cried and I put my arms around her and held onto Larry's shoulder during the prayer that Pastor prayed over them -- for healing if the Lord wills and for the journey ahead.

Judy acknowleged the surprise of such report, and rightly so, given Larry's activity level (I dare say, an Ironman is no small feat -- and he's done many!). But there was peace amid the tears as she declared that God is in control and that this is going to work for good and for growth in their lives. That's something that I appreciate so much about the church is their overall disposition toward suffering: instead of running from pain, there is a rest in God's complete sovereignty in every situation and a near-tangible peace that carries people through -- a fruit of the Spirit, if you ask me.

Such demonstrations of trust in the midst of uncertainty is encouraging and comforts me to know that no matter what the future holds, God is in control and has my best interest at heart. My "best interest," of course, is whatever it takes to be chiseled more and more into the image of Christ. And sometimes He uses suffering to further that work.

One of my favorite poems is "The Eternal Goodness" by Whittier. Two of the stanzas read:

I know not what the future hath
Of marvel or surprise,
Assured alone that life and death
His mercy underlies
And if my heart and flesh are weak
To bear and untried pain,
The bruised reed He will not break
But strengthen and sustain.

This afternoon I cried again. Not out of anger towards God or a "how could You be doing this," but more out of a sorrow and grief that the world is fallen and that sin has corrupted everything, including our mortal bodies. Then I was reminded of our hope -- hope for the day when Christ will redeem the earth and everything in it.

This world is full of pain, sorrow, and suffering -- and we look forward to the day when the earth as well as our bodies will be fully glorified. But we also live and breathe knowing that Christ works through the suffering here and now to accomplish His perfect work of sanctification. Mercy undergirds His every act. He won't break us. His strength is perfect. And this gives us hope and peace and joy.

A Three-Shower Day

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 01:39:49 GMT

You know you have had an extremely full and fulfilling day when said activities of that day warrant THREE separate showers. <sigh-of-happiness>

Yesterday was a marvelous day. I awoke early, took one look in the mirror and deemed a shower necessary to squelch the violent civil war going on atop my head. I love short hair, but it does not sleep well -- and were Brook at home, he'd have plenty of opportunity to call me Cave Woman.

I hopped out of the shower and jetted out the door to a beautiful sunrise and quickly hooked up with Susanna and her fam to head over to Dallas for the Freedom Run. A run is a great way to start a day (although I felt a bit guilty that after having spent the past 6 years working for perhaps one of the most influential pro-America organizations in the country, I did not own ANYTHING red-white-and-blue or worth of donning for the patriotic Freedom Run. How did that happen?). Susanna and I made excellent time and pretty much smoked everyone else. We got free bananas and water and Fuze and Cliff Bars as a reward. Not to mention the happy accomplishmentn of having run 3.1 miles before 10 o'clock!

All the sweat dried on my way home (I'm always thankful for leather seats in moments like these) and upon arriving the homestead I hopped in the shower again. This time I donned an old pair of khakis and a shirt, grabbed my paintbrush and headed over to help a friend paint (actually, i forgot my paintbrush, but there were extras). I love painting. Painting is such a grand task of instant gratification and one that makes a Saturday feel like a Saturday (especially when you eat hamburgers and drink root beer along with it). The paint was a delightful shade of Swiss Coffee which made it even more wonderful to slather on the walls. We painted and painted and it was great fun. After a while I looked at my watch, rinsed my brush and headed out the door and back home for another shower.

This time I opted for a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt. I grabbed two eggs, a large glass baking dish, measured out 1/2 cup of cooking oil into a tupperware container, hooked up with my Ghiradelli brownie mix and headed out the door for a WallBuilder Girl's Night. We had great fun making pizza from scratch, eating brownies and ice cream and hearing stories of Joni's youth (she was at one time a trapeze artist in the circus). For those of you girls who left early, I must say, you missed out on much of the evening's entertainment (for some strange reason, when playing ping-pong, Callie's name becomes synonymous with "Jerry Lewis," and the critics note that she does a killer Taylor-the-Latte-Boy impression).

I returned home, dog-tired but happy. I could have taken another shower to make it an even 4, but I decided to hit-the-hay as quickly as possible. In one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoons Calvin remarks:

"My elbows are grass-stained, I've got sticks in my hair, I'm covered with bug bites and cuts and scratches... I've got sand in my socks and leaves in my shirt, my hands are sticky with sap, and my shoes are soaked! I'm hot, dirty, sweaty, itchy and tired. I say consider this day seized! Tomorrow we'll seize the day and throttle it!"

Consider this day throttled.

A Turned Page

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 14:40:51 GMT

A page has turned -- and with it a sigh has been had, a few tears have been dropped and yet there peace knowing that my times are in His hands.

Friday, August 31st marked my final official day at WallBuilders, affectionatly known as "The Wall." For the past 6+ years, it has been my vocational home and I can only marvel at the grace and favor God bestowed upon me at the hands of David and Cheryl and all my cronies.

I was officially the scheduling and events lady but wore several hats including e diting for DB, maintaining the events portion of the website, restoring bombed Macs, singing in the stairwell, compelling people to make brownies for all functions, spamming WallBuilder contacts, etc. I started out at the ripe old age of 18 and was immediately thrown a daunting project by David who had the bright idea of us hosting annual Congressional Pastors Briefings in DC. "We want to send invites to all our pastors, get a group of 100 to meet us in DC and do a 2-day Congressional Briefing that kicks off with a private tour of the Capitol." So we did. Not sure how, but we did - and it was a success! Now, after 27 Briefings and lots of frequent-flyer miles, I'm turning over the reins to Kim who is going to be amazing.

I loved my bosses, DB & CB. No matter what television program he'd just interviewed on or what big-wig he'd just rubbed shoulders with, when David came home, he was David - screeching up to the office in his little Green Hornet, tearing through the office at breakneck speed in his moccasins, tripping you on the stairs, pulling ponytails (that's why I cut mine all off), rounding up the troops for some soapapillas or a visit to the Mesquite Pit, and summoning you with an affectionate "Hey, Knucklehead, get over here!" David was a night owl and it wasn't uncommon for us to order in pizza and burn the midnight oil on a project - and enjoy every minute of it. He would start laughing at me come 2 a.m. when I'd begin to shut down, start craving meatloaf, and become worthless. David had a way of inspiring productivity and active participation in any project, large or small, even the tedious, because he led by example. His drive and passion for the work and for the call God placed on his life was compelling -- and contagious. Cheryl was his perfect balance, bringing class, stability and support. She was ever by his side be it fraternizing at the White House or hauling brush and burning mesquite on the ranch. She too maintained a humble disposition and acknowleged God's favor despite the many glamorous opportunities they encountered. They have been such great people to serve.

I got to meet some amazing people throughout my tenure. LTC Brian and Mel Birdwell became great friends especially after Brook enlisted; when Rick Green visits, I'm sure he'll always hide my telephone receiver and save me some keylime pie; Laurel Jones and Betsy Schonhoff will always inspire me with their event-organizational skills and Wayne Hamilton will forever be my hero (to name a few).

I loved my cronies as well. Much, much laughter has been had and memories made at The Wall. We worked like beavers and laughed like hyenas. At one point we moved a file cabinet in the Research Department to reveal scores of rubberbands that had been mis-fired over the years and landed behind the cabinet -- and we all remember the day Steele Brand shot the contact out of Becca's eye! David's delight were his movies and our frequent movie nights, set up in the Library with David's projector were memorable as well (I remember LOTS of these nights, contrary to popular belief). I remember happy times with the likes of Scarlett, Liz, Melissa, Becca (till they started gettin' married and moving to far-away places!). Scarlett, I'm glad you're still with me! And now, the memories with my girls are too numerous to count! (i.e., watching Hilarly click her heels to Dancing Queen, Susanna swooning over Jason the Java-Boy, Kim dodging the falling crickets, Joni freaking me out with giant-sized candybars and leaves from Honduras, Rachel sending ever-timely Hoops & YoYo eCards, Judith making delectable gourmet lunches, and on and on. I even loved Gloria the Resilient, my awe-inspiring ivy).

So on Friday I said good bye (although Mrs. Morrison said it wasn't "Goodbye," it was "See you later." I like that much better). It is such a blessing to have many, many WallBuilders memories, and the experiences I had there have grown me in more ways than I can imagine. Anyone who walks through those doors is blessed and I am delighted that they let me stay for so long to wallow in it!

Alas, I wanted to add more pics, but time does not permit at the moment. I'll try to get some more up soon! Here are a couple random movies in the mean time.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 01:33:29 GMT

Oh my goodness gracious! Hil, you are the bomb -- "YouCanJive?!" I totally cracked up when I saw this thing! Whit, you are a dear for showing me how this all works. Sus, Kim and Rachel, thank you for giving me some delightful comments to read when I signed in for the first time!

I will continue to try to figure out this "weblog community" and to provide some interesting thoughts every now and then! I'm looking forward to staying connected with you guys even when life gets crazy!

But for now, I must take a shower since a short run in the heat has taken its toll and the aroma factor is frightening.

Love to all!

Friday, August 25, 2006

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 21:02:20 GMT

You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen...

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