everyday miracles

A couple friends & I have been studying the gospel of Mark, working our way through the stories of various miracles (think fishes & loaves), and it got me to thinking.  I know that I'm often guilty of compartmentalizing the idea of "miracles" to those of bible tales, miraculous wonders of nature etc, instead of appreciating the little everyday miracles that happen all around us.  Then there are those in desperate situations who pray to God for a miracle in their lives or in the lives of their loved ones, and when those prayers seem to go unanswered and all seems lost, they still remain steadfast in their faith.  It is seeing and hearing stories of those people and their faith that challenge me to the core, and it makes me wonder about how strong my own faith really is.  I've been thinking about this idea of having your faith "tested", which I suppose in some ways is not unlike feeling like the kids or your co-workers are testing your patience, or feeling tested in your relationships - but with much higher stakes.  I guess I should learn to allow God to speak to me through the everyday lessons I'm presented with, and pray that I would be changed by them.  
 
Talk about a test of faith, if you'd like to see one couple's story about their son Eliot, check this out, it is the single best thing I've seen on YouTube to date (thanks Kim for passing it along).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0  You'll need to grab a tissue first, but the story is beautiful, I promise!

Dining al fresco

Al fresco - defined as an adjective meaning "in the fresh air; outdoors".  Or, if you're my 4-yr-old nephew, "al fresco means eating outside!"  A couple weeks ago he learned this little tidbit from his dad and repeated this to me several times (usually starting his sentence with an excited "guess what, Tita?!" as most of his sentences to me do), however he was quite perturbed when he later discovered that eating outside made him "hot".  Ha!  Out of the mouths of babes.
 
But I must say that this is truly one of my favorite aspects of summer (in addition to summer fruits and cute open-toed shoes!); last weekend we grilled out, had some wine at an open-air bar www.thegrapevineofnovi.com , and went to a backyard bbq at our friends' house (thanks Kim & Mike!) complete with summer white sangria.  We continued the trend this past holiday weekend, with picnicing and fireworks at the Greenfield Village, picnicing and fireworks in Birmingham, a bbq at my sister's house, and tasty treats downtown/midtown at the Comerica Cityfest.  For someone who attacks most outdoor activities with at least 45 SPF sunscreen, I couldn't get enough of the outdoors these last couple days, and even suggested we take our niece & nephew to the nature center in Troy, and the next day the hubs agreed to a not-so-brisk walk on the Paint Creek trail through Rochester.
 
So here's to doing the whole Michigan summer al fresco - enjoy!!
 
P.S.  Full disclosure: no, alas, this is not a picture of our backyard garden, rather, it is the charming chateau hotel Le Clos D'Amboise in France where we'll spend the last two nights of our fall Europe excursion. 

My husband the Detroiter

I meant to blog about this a week ago, but what can I say, it's another busy summer and we're out and about doing things!  Anyway, last week I'm picking up around the house and walking around from room to room, and I hear a loud "Yeeessss!" coming from the family room, where the hubby was watching the Tigers beat the Cardinals (sorry Grandma Smith & Allison!), and it put a secret smile on my face.  Despite the fact that he's not a native Michigander, he's a Tigers fan, a Pistons fan, a Red Wings fan, a Lions...well okay he's decidedly not a fan of them, but you get the picture. 
 
Despite the fact that the day GM recently filed for bankruptcy marked the same day of his 10-year anniversary with the company (true story), he generally reports that his life in Michigan has proved fruitful (I mean, he met & married me, right? :).  I'm so grateful that his life path brought him here, and can't wait to see what happens next!

Fighting daily demons

Don't you hate how much seemingly little things in life can so often set you back - like a stressful meeting at work, an argument with a family member or spouse, even reading a disheartening news article about yet another senseless killing or kidnapped child?  And yet when your days are going well - long summer nights outside with friends, happiness in a relationship - it is so easy to forget the hurting and despair that lurks just around the corner deep within the hearts of people feeling lost?  Well, find hope and take solace, friends - in each other, in the word of God, and in believing that love conquers all.  Book recommendation: I'm more than halfway through "Three Cups of Tea" and it has been a very interesting read of a man providing help to others in his own unusual quest to heal his own hurts and find his purpose.
 
Romans 5
 
 ¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Live long and prosper

Who thinks that ladies wouldn't be interested in Star Trek?  Not me!  Four other gal pals joined in the fun last night, and everyone enjoyed the flick.  I got hooked on Star Trek TNG (The Next Generation) by sister Debbie in high school, and the new movie did not disappoint.  It will definitely reside in our DVD collection some day.  The classic push and pull of good vs. evil (spoiler: love wins! :), great effects and an effective soundtrack pleased this moviegoer so much, I'm planning to go again soon and bring the hubby!
 
Also, a friend sent a funny and useful tip to check out www.runpee.com which not only provides helpful suggestions as to the ideal times during a movie to make a run to the bathroom, but even provides an explanation for what you will be missing (this part is optional and accessible only if you choose to press the unscramble button to reveal the info).  Great link to keep on hand if you suffer from frequent runs to the bathroom like me!  Thanks, "cousin" Kim :).

Too blessed to be stressed

OK, so maybe the bumper sticker expression went out of style years ago, but it's not a bad idea to remind yourself of the concept every once in a while, you know?  Things at both of our jobs continue to be pretty stressful, but we both feel blessed to still be collecting paychecks and regularly make decisions to be purposeful about being charitable with our giving.  And with a roof over our head, a happy marriage, and good health, well, you get the picture.
 
We are grateful for our loving families as well, in fact, we had a nice holiday weekend with the Barton's parents in town from Illinois.  They like to joke that they are always well fed when they come for a Michigan visit, and this time was no exception.  Friday night we dined at the Royal Kubo in Clawson, they even let me pick the Filipino fare to sample.  But there was no karaoke indulgence to be had, instead we headed up to Paciugo's for gelato, seriously good stuff, folks.  Saturday morning found us walking on Paint Creek Trail, so we just had a little breakfast & lunch at home before cleaning up and heading down to the DIA to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit, which we all enjoyed.  Afterwards we took them to Polish Village in Hamtramck for an early dinner, they couldn't believe the affordable prices or the line out the door at such an early hour.  We also stopped into the New Palace bakery to pick up a few sweet treats for later before ending the evening walking around downtown Royal Oak and cooling off with some refreshments outside of Bean & Leaf.  Sunday after church we enjoyed a delightful brunch at Josephine's in Ferndale, and in the afternoon we loaded up and headed to my parents house for a little family/friends barbecue, good times and good food!  Monday took on a slower pace, Mr & Mrs Mac headed to Somerset Mall, I stretched my legs with a bike ride before a little work (boo) and some errands in the afternoon before I left the crew with dinner in the fridge so I could visit for a couple hours with my friend Karin who was in town from Florida.  I arrived back home after an apparent Scrabble showdown (hubby won again, that bugger! :), just in time to join the group for a short walk to the local Dairy Queen.  They headed out Tuesday morning to zip up north for a quick trip in Traverse City before driving home.
 
Wow I should really buckle down on the whole calories in/calories out thing, I'm pretty sure that the yoga class that I forced my tired self to last night didn't quite cover the spread, but we had a good time and that is certainly something to be thankful for!

Weekend funny

Clearly, no one will find this as funny as I did, but I had to share.  One Saturday morning I dragged the hubby to the gym, the poor guy hadn't even had this coffee yet, but I was on a tight timeline to get to my next destination for the day so off we went for a quick workout.  Wrapping up the hour, I looked up from the bike to see him just a few feet away perched on the abs machine.  So I mouthed to him "I have two and a half more minutes" and he replies "I know".  So then I say, out loud, "What, how can you know that?" and he says, quizzically, "You just said 'I'm hot for you', right??"  Needless to say, it's a good thing I was just on a stationary bike, or I would have fallen off, laughing!  He's so funny, ha.