Rainbow of Glass

I have many hobbies that were put aside for college, marriage, and childrearing. One of them is beading. Abbostford has the BEST beading store i have ever set foot in: Strung out on beads (a make-you-laugh name too!). The environment breeds creativity and one cannot leave without a pile of colors and inspiration. The beading store in Winnipeg is not as snazy. It is without beaded art hanging from the ceiling, creaky wooden floors, showcase after showcase of beautiful jelewlry created by locals and store owner hippy lady, local and colorful paintings spicing up the wall space, wild owners, and the most amazing selection of beads i have ever laid eyes on. But, i am not in Abbotsford, so i will forget my woes and move on! Dave gave me a gift certificate to the beading store for Christmas and i just decided to use it earlier this week. I got a little carried away and ended up spending too much, but the necklaces i made are lovely. One is simple, blue and glassey. I rarely choose blue when dressing myself or my neck, but recently i have been trying to broaden my wardrobe from green and red (Christmas all year!), to blue, and pink, and a bit of yellow... Here is necklace number one:
And then i got a little carried away and created a rainbow of lovely neck decorating delight!

I wear my lovely Jewelry with fond memories of the colorful beadstore that i miss.
Janie

Why I love the Internet, Volume 2

http://www.stuffonmycat.com
I just have to say that we have plenty of pictures that could go on this site.

http://www.deepskyfrontier.com
Amazingly, Hilariously big website.
"Use the arrow keys to try and move the scroll bar even one pixel. No wait, don't. It'll take more than 3 times your lifespan"

http://drmcninja.com/index.html
The words "Free" and "Comics" are dangerous to be sure. Combine them, and only a few will survive.

http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com
Don't say we didn't warn you.

Or if you like, type in Diet Coke and Mentos into google and see what you get.
Man this thing is too much!
-D

Our New Look

This is our NEW blog. Inspired by a piece of paper i bought, redesigned by Dave, and created by the both of us! For sometime now i have wanted to personalize our blog, because i love creative design and such, but had no clue how. So I learnt a little HTML, and together with Dave's creative mind and graphic skills, we had done it!!!! Unfortunately when we were making changes our 'personalized comment' (someone care, no one cares, etc..) was lost as we changed templates. Sadly, i can't find the page that taught us how to do that hack, and i just don't know where to put the code. Maybe we will figure it out. However, having a completely personalized blog makes me happier than a personalized comment section. We hope you enjoy the new look too! It brings me calmness and inspiration. Still working on it though!

This weekend Chris and Mary (Dave's mom and dad) are coming to visit. We are so excited to 'show off' Corrina to them. Yes, they already LOVE her tons, but she has sooo many new tricks they have never seen! Come quickly mom and dad!!

Dave earned a new name: The prickly Pirate (for those of you who don't know he likes pirate games, and i do too!), but he quickly lost his name and has now been christened as Captain No Beard (yes, all this stemming from his prickly, itchy whiskers)!

Have a FINE day!
Oh, pictures.. let's see:
This is dave all suited up with Corrina in the Cuddly Wrap! She loves to sleep through church in this thing, and it ensures her a good two hour nap!

Everyone has such lovely gardens this summer to show off, but we live in a porchless apartment. I thought i would share pictures of our 'garden' with you anyways!

Why do I love the interenet?

Oh! Let me count the ways!

Star Wars, in 30 seconds, re-enacted by bunnies.

(requires flash)

-D

Just a little clarification....

Just so we ALL know....

Electron Microscope


























"Electrical Microscope"




















Note, if you will, the subtle differences. You may, for example, see the difference in size between to two. You may also noticed the plug protruding from the second, indicating that it indeed is an electrical microscope. With a keen eye you may even see that one is, in fact, real, while the other tends to be, as it were, not.

Steel Venom

Our favorite ride at Valley fair was called steel venom! With feet dangling you sit tightly starpped in in multiple ways (first sign that the ride is going to be a good one!) Before you even have time to notice you are being blasted forward at a high speed that took you by surprise. You shoot staright up a tower that twists as it climbs. Then you travel backwards, through the starting point and straight up another pole that doesn't twist. You reach the top and vooommm you are moving forward again to the other twisty pole, faster this time, and high too. Vaaammm, Backwards toward the straight pole, only this time there is a BIG THUNK (which freaks you half to death if you are Janie and hadn't been watching the ride before boarding it, and therefore didn't know what was coming!). Instead of moving foward toward the pole again you are stuck, facing completely forward. You whole body jerks as the ride that was moving at very hgih speeds suddenly comes to a halt. I slipped foward in my seat, my chest pressing hard again the strong straps and my stomache pushing against the tightly( or so one hopes!) fastend waist belt! "Oh, i am going to fall out and die. The ride is stuck. I want down. If i fall then at least i will hit the..." Voooooooommmm we are on our way down, and the only damage done is that my bottom has moved a few inches forward in the seat. One more time up the twisty pole and we are finished.
When we first got off the ride Bre and Ernie were waiting with Baby Corrina for us. After watching us ride, they weren' sure if they would brave it. Through much elation and shaking hands and trembling voice (yes, i was physically shaking), we convinced them that although it is a rush, it is harmless and a great time!
We went on this ride twice, and that was all we could handled. Of course the two rides were spaced hours apart, for one can only handle so much shaking.
Here's the Proof:
this is only one half of the ride!

This movie doesn't capture the "halt" the ride comes to, but believe me, it was intense!

Trip Highlights:

-Roller Coasters
-Ikea
-The biggest, comfiest, leatheriest, softess, reclining chairs i have EVER sat in. Honestly, i have never been so comfortable in my whole life. In a theater room in the house we stayed in there were 8 of these chairs. Large screen, candy, friends, and heavenly leather chairs!!! drool, drool
-Special moments with bre and ernie (without electrical microscopes!), oh, and apples
-Talking about life and love
-Beyond Balderdash
-Air conditioning
-more roller coasters!!!!!!!!
-Mall of america

So, here we are at a sign! Yup, just a lunch break at a sign
Cotton Candy at 25 cents. Can't go wrong!
Waiting in line is fun! (actualy, the longest line we waited in was about 15 minutes, and it was the Ferris Wheel. Funny!)
Corrina was in her stroller ALOT. She did amazingly well. She hardly made a peep during our car rides, mall day, and amusement park adventure.
If you look really closely in the background you can tell that we are up up up in the air, on Corrie's first ride: The Ferris Wheel!


Dave bought me some bread. I have to go eat it now!
Janie

Rolling Pin

Our house is full of new baby moving action! Corrie, after weeks of trying, can roll over from her back to her front. Last night was her first official roll. She was in the crib, naked, and i was getting her towel for bath time. When i turned around she was on her tummy! Today there has been no end to her movement. I have put her back to the far corner of her blanket so many times, and she keeps ending up over by my feet! I love it!

Here is a little photo preview of our mini-holiday. Dave and i will write about it later!

"It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought." -Agnes Repplier

Another quick article, in need of critique

No, this is not an update on our recent trip. It is however a chance for you to read and critique another article for me. This is meant to be put on a poster to be hung in and around our church, addressed to young people. Please let me know what you think.

-Dave

How to Go to Church: 10 simple things YOU can do to make going to church easier, more fun, and best of all more meaningful.

1. Get enough sleep Saturday Night. You’ll never connect with what’s going on if you’re falling asleep. You don’t have to go to bed at 8:00pm or anything, but try to make sure you have enough sleep behind you to be alert, not just semi-conscious.

2. Sit with Friends. You love spending time with your friends, so go ahead. Pretty much everything is more fun with your friends around. After all, church is about community, right? If you don’t have friends at the service, bring one with you!

3. Get involved. Life is more interesting if you get involved. So join a group, commit as a volunteer, and get into it. If you don’t see anything in the church that you want to be a part of, then START something that you would want to belong to. Church is a lot more than just Sunday morning.

4. Start taking things personally. God is interested in you and your life. He wants more than you bum in the pew--He wants you to get to know Him and for you to trust Him. A church service is a great opportunity to connect with God personally. Take advantage of that.

5. Get to know people.

6. Sing the songs. Even if you don't know them. Even if you don’t think you can sing. Especially if you don’t think you can sing.

7. Enjoy yourself. Smile. Stop worrying if you look “cool” or not and just relax. This is a church. It’s the last place people should be judging you.

8. Engage yourself in the service. Listen to the sermon, and think about it. Do you agree or disagree with what’s being said? Ask someone else what they thought about the service, and how it impacts your life (or how it doesn’t). Listen to the prayers, and think about what the world would be like if God answered them. Engage your mind and your heart.

9. Realize that you need the church. Going to church and being a part of the community is an important part of having a personal relationship with God.

10. Realize that the Church needs YOU. You have a responsibility to this church as a member of the community. It is your duty to show up, to take part, and to be who God made you to be. People are depending on you. Now what are you going to do about it?

Recently a survey went out to our church members about Youth ministry, and they all said that they want to see YOU, the young people, as a part of the church. They want you to be involved. They want to get to know you, because you matter to them.

doof Tnrub

I said i would make scones for our upcoming road trip. I found a great Honey Date scone recipie, and made it, following to the T! Then i put them in the oven at the temp and time suggested, and they came out looking like this:

Arrrg. Since i had run out of milk i decided to try a different scone recipe that called for sour cream. I added honey instead of sugar, and put in dates again. But, since honey is a liquid sweetner i forgot to add less sour cream and just ended up adding more flour. I thought they would work, but they are taking forever to Bake! They are wet on the inside.

I think life can sometimes be like these fricken scones. You have the perfect recipe and it is working so well, except in the end it burns. Plus, you can't make another batch because you run out of milk. in the words of my friend Nap D. "gooosshh"

Stupid scones.

No worries, i am already having a better day! I just had a little venting to do.
Catch our trip tales next week.

Great song, thought I'd share

Just thought I'd give y'all a heads up about a great track on the radio right now. Ben Folds has apparently done a rerecording of Rockin the Suburbs featuring none other than WILLIAM SHANTER as "Bill" the disgruntled neighbour! If you haven't heard it, go over to itunes or something and check it out! Or, since you're probaly not going to do that, here are the lyrics. Enjoy!

Rockin’ The Suburbs (feat. William Shatner)

Let me tell y'all what it's like
Watching idol on a friday night
In a house built safe and sound
On indian burial ground
Sham On

We drive our cars everyday
To and from work both ways
So we make just enough to pay
To drive our cars to work each day

We're rocking the suburbs
Around the block just one more time
We're rocking the suburbs
Cause I can't tell which house is mine
We're rocking the suburbs
We part the shades and face facts
They got better looking Fescue
Right across the cul de sac

Hotwheels take rising stars
Get rich quick seminars
Soap opera magazines
40,000 watt nativity scenes
Don't freak about the smoke alarm
Mom left the TV dinner on

Yet we're rocking the suburbs
From family feud to Chevy Chase
We're rocking the suburbs
We numb the muscles in our face
We're rocking the suburbs
Feed the dog and mow the lawn
Watching mommy balance the checks
While daddy juggles credit cards

Hi, sorry to bother you
The name's Bill
I live just across the street
Yeah that's right over there
No, no not that house, the one next to it with the extra flower bed
Oh, and here's all your papers from the last few days, they were just piling up on the driveway where the...whole neighborhood could see them
Not that that's a problem of course
But that and the grass being a little overgrown
Might give someone the impression that you Were out of town
And you wouldn't want that
I've got to be going shortly to a little
class I've been attending I just...
No, no, no, no not pottery or anything like that it's uh...
An ANGER MANAGEMENT class
Actually,
and speaking of that very class
They've been emphasising finding some common ground
With people before you confront them
to avoid becoming violent, you know?
Well actually we do have a few things in common
Here could you take these papers
They're getting my suit wet
and as I was saying
we do live on the same cul-de-sac
That's common ground
and I believe we actually have the same house plan, except the reverse, your garage is on the left and mine's on the...
No, it wasn't me that dialled 911 at 6:31pm Wednesday about your son's noisy rock band
anyway it's about your dog
And of course about our garbage
And the neighbor's garbage can
No, I'm sorry it is your dog
Who's been strewing garbage around the block
And I have digital evidence
Complete with red eye reduction
which I will e-mail to you
to prove that it is in fact your dog
Now, I should warn you that I have a black belt in in karate too
and I'm certainly don't mind using it if necessary
No, not on you man
ON...YOUR...STINKING...DOG

We're rocking the suburbs
Everything we need is here
We're rocking the suburbs
But it wasn't here last year
We're rocking the suburbs
You'll never know when we are gone
Because the timer lights come on
And turn the cricket noises on each night
Yeah, yeah, we're rocking the suburbs
Yeah, yeah, we're rocking the suburbs

-D

Corrina and Friends

Corrie has had some visitors the last little while and i have pictures to prove it!

Here is Corrie and Aunty Candace (who just wrote her RN examine and now is an official Nurse at the Neo-natal intensive care unit, the place where you don't want your baby to go! Way to go Candace!)
Then we have Naniya, our wonderful friend from College (well, she was in seminary at the time, but we were in college!). This was her first time meeting Corrina and i think they fell in love!
Here is the star of our show, grabing her feetsies, and giving me her new patented "what is that silver thing you keep pointing at me" look. "I'm not smiling for that!"
The little green linen pants are my very own creation! I cut apart a pair of her too-small pants, traced them, added inches, worried that i had no clue what i was doing (because i didn't) and magically came up with these comfy summer pants for corrie! And all for free because they are made from my left over skirt material! Can't beat that price. Oh, and i love ricrac on baby clothes, so of course the finishing touch was a wavy trim!
After about 20 minutes of photo taking Corrina got comfy with the camera and started to talk to it. If you have heard her lately you know that her talking sorta sounds like "baaing". We ask her what a sheep says, and she can tell us! So technically she is baaaing at the camera! In this photo she is sporting her new dress made with love by Aunty Heather, the master of the sewing world. You can't see it in this photo but it has a beautiful vintage eyelet lace trim! I have never seen anyone wip up so many creations, so beautifully, in such a short time. She has such an eye for color and design. have you met her and all her wonderful clothes? Looking into her closet is like staring at the most brilliant and beautiful kaleidoscope! Thanks Heather!
This weekend we get to adventure into the melting pot for a few days of fun and shopping. We are going to hit all the hot spots: Mall of America (highlight: lego land), Valley fair (highlight: hanging upside down on anything!), Ikea (highlight: ikea stuff!), Target, and maybe a science museum. And the best part is spending time with our good friends Bre and Ernie, in a car, with lots of good music.
Any Road-trip-with-baby tips from you parents who have done this?

You are a pizza!

Giggling!

I absolutely fill with joy when i hear Corrina giggle.
Be sure to scroll down and see the other things we have posted today!

adios

Winnipeg Children's Festival

Now that we have a child we can frequent such events as "the Winnipeg International Children's Festival". Of course this was more for Dave and me than Corrina at this point, but we want to make a habit of taking her out and about!

In the morning we saw a wonderful children's poet/story teller, Sheree Fitch, who shared some of her books. Lots of tongue twisters! It was a great start to the day.

Next we went to see a show by a performer named Al Simmons. He was amazing! His songs were hilarious, and his performance was so entertaining and had us laughing and singing along. One of his songs is about how when you go to see performers they always make the audience participate. The song went:

"Don't make me sing along,
don't make me sing along,
when you perform your song, please
do it on your own,
leave the audience alone,
Keep the entertainment on the stage. Because
That's where it belongs
Keep the houselights low
I'm not in the show
Don't make me sing along."

And of course he had a giant print out of the lyrics, and had everyone singing along! It was too much! he had a pointer and everything and ran into the audience and sang with people. I loved it!

Wow, if you ever ever have a chance to see him GOOOO! At the end of his set he sang a song about being a 'gypsy sock' that wanted to escape. He ended by running to the back of the tent (where we were nicely sitting with out little baby, out of all the kids way..) because he was the gypsy sock running away from the sock drawer. He proceeded to climb ontop of a wire garbage can and balance himself while singing. Then he admitted that he couldn't get down and beckoned Dave over to him. Dave was wearing Corrina in the cuddly wrap (strapped to the front of his chest... sleeping), and Al started climbing onto his back! It was awesome! Then he told dave "take me to the stage", so dave made his way through crowds of laughing children, while carrying Al (50 year old, skinny, but very tall), and Corrina on his front! A shinning moment. Of course Corrina woke up and had a look at everyone from the stage!

*Dave's 2 cents*
I had to add a few more things about Al, because after all it was me that made Janie go back and watch him a second time! Al was great because he was big and falmboiant and loved what he was doing. He had a 3-piece suit that turned into a bagpipe-players uniform and he had hats that shot water and popped open and inflated! He also had a crazy Trumpet contraption on which he played "the entire 1812 overture, including the all churchbells and the cannon fire" --what he didn't mention is that his one instrument also added water guns, a slide wistle, confetti and a little flag! And any show with an streamer-shooting rainbow trout is great by me!
You can check out www.alsimmons.com for lots of fun stuff and a few song downloads! Make sure you look up "IM4U" and the Swimsuit Calendar!

*Back to Janie*
After that show we saw Sharon and Bram (Lois doesn't tour anymore). They sang all my fav's: peanut butter jelly, the wheels on the bus, the elephant song, skinnamarinky..., walk right in sit right down baby let your mind roll on... etc.. etc..! it was awesome! We just sang along.

We missed Fred penner because we had to get lunch, but we saw a few of his songs. And to end the day we saw Charlotte Diamond, who sang songs i didn't even know i knew.. but when she began to sing my childhood memories kicked in! "Four hugs a day that's the minimum, 4 hugs a day, not the maximum" I went to tons of these things as a child, but this was Dave's FIRST festival! he had a wonderful time! Can't wait for Folk Fest, and Fringe Fest... and i know there are others... !!!

Wow, lots of writing. We forgot our camera, so no pics.
Saturday we had a church picnic at Brid's hill provincial park so we were 45 minutes from home out in the bushes for all of the day! It was fun, not too huge, but we came home with sunburns(not Corrie, just dave and i). Dave tossed and turned all night because of his burning arms. You see, it was so cloudy when we left and the weather forcast did not mention that it would actualy be sunny yesterday, so we just weren't prepared. Alas the sun came out, dave was wet from playing many games with youth and children, and the sun hit him hard. Boo. But, now we are ready for summer and have put a permanent bottle of sunscreen in the diaper bag and car!

it is now sunday. Our church Celebrated Trinity Sunday, a special day to learn about the trinity and celebrate God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We also had hotdog sunday and love winnipeg, so we are very tired and are hiding for the evening even though there is another church event we are suppose to be going to. We told everyone they don't want us there because we will just be grumpy!
Dave is taking a nap (Corrina too!) and i am cleaning (actualy relaxing for me!) Tonight is our downtime because we have been busy every day and evening since tuesday! Wowzers.

Have a super night everyone. We sure will!
Janie

Hooks and Shelf

We finally have 'completed' Corrina's room! She now has lovely hooks to hang her hoodies on, and i have hooks and a shelf to put special items on! I am excited! Thanks Dave for putting them up for us.


Magical: Corrina has been going down for naps on her own! I just put her in her crib and leave, and KAZAM, she is asleep! It is so thrilling and i am finally getting alot of time to myself, thus my mood has improved, and our dinners have improved too!

I am working on putting up a little video of Corrina giggling, but i can't seem to load it at the moment, but keep your eyes open!

Lately i have had some wonderful visits and chats on the phone with some friends. It has felt so great to talk about things that interest me. It has also helped me to recall all the wonderful things i learned in college and other courses. This is important to me because i studied with a career in mind, and i do not want to lose that valuable info and have to retake courses i have already done. It is good to feel useful!


That's it for now!

This post have been rated PG-13 by Some People who know what's best...

Interesting article I found over at www.thinkchristian.net "Is Christianity Anti-Sex

Love to hear your thoughts.
-D

Twist Tonguer

Have you ever come up with a Tongue Twister? I have! I did so on my way to work this morning!
I was a little tiny, baby bug crawling on a tree stump, and tried to say

"Little Baby Lady Bug"

but couldn't spit it out! I tried it three times fast and it just got worse! Okay, but now as I write it out, I'm having no trouble saying it. Crap. Oh well, try it for yourself.

Peace out, Napolepon.
-Dave

Saturday Night Fever...

minus the polyester and disco dancing. Things were still hot, but not as hot as John Travolta in the 1977 disco classic!
In my case it was just my head that was hot. My saturday night fever was not fun. I have not had a bad cold like this in a very long time. Sure, i get colds all the time, but they are the usual sore throat, runny nose variety. This cold came on strong! It started friday afternoon, and by evening I had the worst sinus headache i have ever experienced. Dave was out at Youth and i sat on the bed in agony wishing that i was in labour instead. EEEk. I eventually remebered i could take tylenol while breastfeeding, and the problem went away. But, soon to follow was my 'saturday night fever.' I had dellusions the entire night about "the right pillow" and i could not sleep because my pillow was not the right shape, size, softness, material, electrical (it is hard now to recall these pathological beliefs that i held at the time, but i am sure if you asked me in the moment i would have been quite convinced that there really was a whole world of pillow madness out there that was effecting my sleep in a very negative way, and reason would not have swayed me.)! So i tossed and turned and evntualy me and a new pillow (that i either found on the floor or perhaps stole from under dave's head) ended up at the foot of the bed. Corrina slept well, in that she only woke up once that night, which allowed me to actually get the rest i needed, once i solved the pillow problem that is.
I am mostly better now, although still stuffy in the nose and froggy in the throat! And man, did i look bad the whole weekend. The hair on my head was sticking out here and there (imagine your own animated gestures), kleenex littered the entire house, sniff sniff, blow blow were the sweet sounds that filled the air, and although i couldn't smell it myself, the house smelled like 'sick', as dave kept informing me (a combination of sweaty Janie, dirty catbox, baby poo, wet dishcloth, and garlicy garbage.) We have since remedied the smell and now if you visit us you will enjoy the tantalizing aroma of vanilla, wafting from our glade plug in!
Have i helped you to enjoy the experience! I hope so!

Dave a had great friday night Youth group! Lots of youth, lots of games, lots of noise, lots of fun! We had a splendid potluck last night with our friends! We ate GREAT food: carrot bananna raisin curry (don't know the 'name of the recipie), haitian eggplant goodness (again, nameless), excellent accident-rice (too much cardamom was a good thing!), hummus, and rockin moroccan stew! Yum Yum Yum!

I just realized that Dave posted something, must have been from work, just a few minutes ago. If i post this, i will have over-blogged him, and he doesn't like that. Soooo, if you are reading this, you should keep going and read the post under here too!


-Janers

Please allow me a few moments of Geeking Out

Okay, I just have to say, Ernie and I had the BEST game of Pirates of the Spanish Main the other day! It’s a tabletop game where you build funky little ships – Square rigs, galleys, schooners and the like – and set sail for Gold and Glory!

I love any game that lets you explore different strategies of play, plus this one has PIRATES! How cool are PIRATES?!

So anyway, we started out with different fleets, and both approached the game very differently. Ships were boarded and commandeered, wild islands were explored and canon smoke filled the kitchen as we both raced for treasure. We both had our casualties with neither player was really coming out ahead. Then Ernie’s ships set a quick course for home with enough treasure to win the game when all of a sudden one of my ships boarded his and stole JUST enough gold to hinder his victory. I then sunk his other ship along with its gold, when Ernie stole MY ship, loaded with MY gold including the stolen booty I had taken from him! By this point my remaining ships had formed a make-ship blockade around his home island, attempting to block his final run. My dwindling fleet fired at his lone incoming ship, wounding but not sinking her.

So there we are. All the ships are either gathered around Ernie’s home base, or are belly up on the bottom of Davy Jones’ locker. It’s my turn. If I sink his ship (with a ship in tow, both loaded with gold) I win. If I miss and he takes his turn, he gets his ship home with enough gold to win. I have one roll of the die to sink his ship. A roll of 1, 2, or 3, and I miss. A roll of 4 or higher and I win. Can you feel the tension?

Man, I love a good game. Anyone who wants to play Pirates (or just about any other strategy game – I’m a sucker for the genre) just let me know. But be ye warned, there’s ner’ye a sailor survived a match with Captain NoBeard!

Recent Article

'Ello all.

I recent wrote an article for our Church Newsletter, and I thought I'd get y'all's opinion. It's written primarily for youth and children, so I realize that there is the occasional senctence fragment and such, but just look past that if you could. Let me know what you think.


Getting
by Dave Colvinson

Has this ever happened to you? You’re out shopping or flipping through a magazine or surfing the internet, and suddenly you see something – it could be anything. A new this, a better that – and you want it! Your eyes get big! You heart starts to pump! And you think “Ooo! I’d like to have THAT!”

Often times when I see something that catches my eye, I start thinking about it. A lot. I think about when I can get it, where I can get it, and what I can do with it. I start making excuses about why I should get it. I just get excited about getting! And sometimes I think about the Bible and how it says that Giving is good, right? And while it’s better to give than to receive, every giver means there has to be a receiver, right? Why shouldn’t that receiver be me?

Does this sound familiar? Do you like Getting as much as I do? If so, maybe you’ve noticed the same problem that I have. It seems that no matter how great something looks in the store, no matter how much fun it is once I get it, eventually the excitement wears off. After a while my eye starts to wander to newer and better things, convinced that this time they will hold my attention. But the stuff I’ve longed for never seems to satisfy.

Where has all the getting got me? Why was I so excited to get it if I’ll just end up needing more? Sometimes I want to get stuff because I’m bored or because I feel upset about something, and the getting makes me feel better. I want to forget my troubles and I want that excitement of getting again. But if getting doesn’t satisfy, then what am I doing?

Here’s my point. I’m not suggesting that you or I should renounce all belongings. I’m not telling you to sell all you have, go live in a tree, and live off honey and locust. That may work for some people, but that’s probably a little extreme. But I am suggesting this: before you buy something/get something/obsess over something, just ask yourself “Why?” It’s a revolutionary thought! If there’s one thing our culture doesn’t teach, it’s restraint in purchasing. But think about it. Just add one step to your purchasing process, think before you get, and maybe someday you won’t need so much anymore.

I want to share a verse from Luke on the subject of getting. In this passage Jesus is talking about a man who has much in life – so much that he doesn’t know what to do with it all – and then dies. Boom. And just like that, it’s all over. “a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 15:21. I don’t know about you, but I do not want to end up like that guy! I’d like to let go of my stuff, and spend more time and energy on things that matter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not there yet. But hey, I’m working on it.