The Simpaticostic Life

"If thou art wise, look after thy house; love thy wife without alloy. Fill her stomach, clothe her back; these are the cares to be bestowed on her person. Caress her, fulfil her desires during the time of her existence; it is a kindness which does honor to its possessor. Be not brutal; tact will influence her better than violence. . . . Open thy arms for her, resplendent to her arms; call her, display to her thy love."

Honesty: Blogging makes me feel guilty.

Explaination: I love blogging. I love reading blogs. I am horrible at posting.

Confession: I feel guilt for wishing people would read my blog even though I don't post much.


So yep. I'm going to get rid of the guilt by posting. :-p

This is just a cute little thing from last night. I was in a really good, loving mood last night. Like I just was so happy to sit on the floor and watch Legend of the Seeker with my head touching Somewhere's. I just wanted to be near him. And this is the conversation that followed:

"I love it when I'm in a loving mood like this." - Me
"I was just about to say, I love being loved on like this. Maybe I'll be sick more often." - Somewhere

Awwwww.

Lately, I've been seeking out Jesus and pouring my heart to the lover of my soul....

And this song sums it up.



Why did I ever stop?

(Thank you to everything who's encouraged me.... especially Somewhere and Ylsh. Somewhere, you are my love. Ylsh, you are the sister God has blessed me with.)

I haven't really thought of this much before, but have you ever thought of the talents you could miss if you are not surrendered to Christ?

Not a reason to follow Him...

But doesn't it make sense that under the guidance of the One who created dance, what a better dancer one could be?
Or to have the voice of the Creator in your song?
How about being shown the intimate details of molecules by the Grand Designer?
Your hands caring for others under the gentle touch of the Healer?

I've had people say about some of my friends "Oh they are so quiet, but when she's singing for Jesus! I've never heard such a strong voice." "When she's dancing in Christ, it's breathtaking."

Why act outside of that? Why not pursue purity and grace under the Savior? What is there to lose that wasn't rubbish to begin with?

Colossians 3:23-34
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

I've been talking to my best friends.

Josh.
God.
Sylver.
Mom.
Ava Mom.
Grandmother.

And it's been so good.

Life is hard. It can suck. Love of money is the root of all evil... and money, the root of a lot of frustration. But...

Josh has inspired me:
To look for wisdom even when you know it will hurt. Even when your soul cries "No! no... I don't want to look anymore, I don't want to struggle anymore", to shake your head at yourself and simply say "Lord, this hurts. I'm worn out. But God, once more, I will ask for wisdom and strength. I know this is insanity. But I will ask once more."

Sylver has inspired me:
1.That life isn't just about our hurts. There are others who are hurting and need love. What better way to mend our sorrows than to love?
2. To wake up and praise. To wake up, and seek the Word.

God has inspired me:
(Through Josh) That He loves me. Right now. That I am beautiful and whole to Him. Not one day. Today. And there's nothing I can do about it.

Mom has inspired me:
To carry on. And cook cheap. :-p

Ava Mom has inspired me:
Through the fable of the wind and the sun. The wind and the sun argued over who could make the man remove his cloak first. The wind said he would just blow it right off. But the more and more he tried, the tighter the man clung to the cloak. The sun, he simply was himself and shined.
Satan tries to get us to let go by blowing and blowing, which really just makes us cling harder.
God, if He takes away one warmth, He gives us another.

Grandmother has inspired me:
That you never know just how bright a card from home can make someone's day. They are important.


I am inspired.

"...but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child that finally decides our fate."
~ President Obama, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20th 2009

Is it not amazing that he said that in his speech at the very beginning, and now just two short months later, his major moves have include a huge press to take away a baby's right to life.

My heart is torn.

*Excerpt taking from The White House blog

Ever been to a big bash? Perhaps you know them as a dance, party or ball?

I have. They are a lot of fun. :-)

The word "bash" has another meaning though. When we talk about our friends, enemies or in betweens and just tear them to shreds with our words, we refer to it as "bashing" them.

Ever heard of a "husband bash?"

I definitely have. They seem so nice.

I'm not going to lie to you and say "Josh never gets on my nerves."
He does. It happens. Life should go on. But man are there times I just want to tear into him while talking to a friend. I just want to rant and rave and go on and on about how he did this or that. Cause I am just so perfect and deserve to do that? Right? Right?

Big, fat WRONG.
(See how it's big and fat?)

I snap. I bite. I make snide remarks. I'm selfish. I'm mean. I'm prideful.

And it hits me every day. When I think of how Josh annoys me sometimes, normally in that very same day, I do the exact same thing to him. Some people may say "that's fair." I sure don't. I say "love me this way!" and then my very actions show I do not hold that as the definition of how I should love him. How hypocritical. How disgusting.

So here's how the two bashes tie together.

I view a husband bash like I view what could be called spring break clubbing. Its a big dance floor, with lots of people, half of them drunk banging into each other, dancing provocatively, and basically just doing actions without thought. And that's kinda the purpose. It feels good, you're being sexy and acting like there isn't a care in the world to bother you. For most, it's moments of desiring attention from others, and having that desire filled. And again, I'm not going to lie, there are times in my life that its seemed like a lot of fun.

Now imagine a salsa couple, dancing, together, alone on the dance floor. Each is trying to make the other look good. Each is acting off the others strengths, and weaknesses so both flow together in beauty. Granted, that's a very sensual dance, but it portrays my idea well.
(Another I thought of was an old-fashioned ball room dance. Either works for my point.)
This is how we should be to others. Not that I'm saying "oh just act like everything is okay." To be a great dancing team, it takes hours and hours of practice. It takes knowing each other. It takes building up together. A team would be no good if one went around pointing out the others weakness to all other teams. Granted, I talk to my mom, grandmother and best friend when I really need to just talk some stuff out. They are not other teams, they are coaches. I trust them to be the type to say "you can't change others, you can only change you."

So what kind of dance do you want to do?

Has anyone pushed the little "blue wheelchair man" next to a capikta or how ever you spell it?

If you haven't...

Dooooo it.

I have been so busy lately. In fact, right now, I should be studying for my Public Speaking midterm I have tonight. But am I? No. Ah. Well.

Since all of the things I have been busy with are quite epic, I'll tell about them.


1. My day of birth was last Wednesday.
In my family, birthdays are a huge event. There are more birthday traditions than Christmas traditions I think. Some of them include:

• No chores for the birthdaier
• No school work for the birthdaier (Hey! We were homeschooled)
  
• Breakfast in bed
  
• The Whitaker Birthday song
  
• Presents after breakfast in bed (Or before eating if the birthdaier chooses)
• A morning call from Meemaw
  
• Lunch with mom, at her restaurant of choice
• Birthday dinner that night, with the meal of the birthdaier's choice
• Birthdaier may stay up as late as midnight if they want (When we got older, it became 4 am - ish)
• A birthday family get together with The H's, H Jrs, O's and now E's. (Hehe, we're the E's) where the meal theme is the birthdaier's choice (one year, I chose "purple" as the theme)
• And I always get a Happy 6th Birthday card from Grandfather, because when I was six, he said it was the last year I fit perfectly into his lap and I wasn't allowed to grow any older. I look forward to that card the most.

So as you can see, that's a lot for Josh to feel he had to live up to. I really tried to not put pressure on him. :-p But I knew he knew about breakfast in bed and I was interested to see if he would do it. I had total faith in him.
Well it's birthday morning and we laid in bed and talked. My Meemaw called. I talked to her, and while talking to her, she asked if I had gotten breakfast in bed. I laughed and said "not yet." She laughed and joked "ah so you are still waiting?" "Yep!" "Good for you, stick to your guns." And we continued talking. After that, I climbed back in bed. Finally, I still was full of faith for Josh, but I thought maybe a little proding would help.

"You know, I don't mind if you were to just do cereal, just make some cereal. That would be fine."
"Heh, no, you have to make your own."
"What! (grinned) No! That totally destroys breakfast in bed. I can't make it!"
"Well then I guess no breakfast."

I promise, I was totally teasing him here, laughing and everything:

"You're the meanest husband on earth! Well the ones that beat their wives, they are meaner."
"Oh, so I'm right above guys who cheat on their wives."
"No... okay, they are meaner too."

Well a few minutes after those words of love, I heard a sound. It was a song!
"Today is a birthday I wonder for who...."
At first, my mind wondered if I had put the phone on speaker, but then I quickly remember I wasn't on the phone.
It was my daddy!
I jumped up and the door opened.
My dad, mom, brother Reece and my grandmother walked in, carrying Burger King. They had all drove 3 and a 1/2 hours to surprise me for my birthday, with Josh being in on it of course. (Yeah I was regretting those "meanest husband" comments.)
It was such a wonderful day! They came and Josh skipped class so he could spend the morning with us. We had breakfast, opened presents, visited. We went to town and took care of some business. Then we went to a great American/Greek resturant in town for lunch, where I had a fabulous gyro. Afterward, Josh had to go to work. :-( But thank God he has a job. So then we went home, and Reece started playing guitar. Well dad wanted to take me to take care of something in town, so that it would be ready for the next day, so we all loaded up in the car, except Reece. (He stayed to play more guitar. :-p He's really getting very good.) After taking care of business, we bummed around the cool little shops in downtown. We went from there to Wal-Mart and then back home again. We visited for about an hour or so, and then I had to go to class and they had to go home. First we went to Josh's work, and got his car running. There was something wrong with the battery. We got that fixed, they took me to the college and we said our goodbyes at the door.

Dad said Grandmother basically floated down the halls after leaving, because she was so proud of me and how I was in college and married and everything. :-)

I, on the other hand, sat in my seat for a minute or two, trying not to cry, and then had to leave, run to the bathroom, sob for a couple minutes and then head back to class, 5 minutes late. But I was fine. Just needed a cry.

After class, Josh picked me up, we went home, and enjoyed a loverly evening with Mark, Tina and Dustin. We watched the end of American Idol, ate yummy pizza, with Ranch of course. Then they had a cake for me. Generally I don't like cake. But this one was insanely good. And, Mark's idea, they got me a game. FLASH UNO! I love that game, it's so much fun! So we played a round and then everyone went to bed.

It was a beautiful day.

Oh, and next post, I'll talk about Josh's present to me. :-)

Before I go, I'd love to hear a birthday tradition from you, so post a comment and let me know one... please?

Thanks!

Love,
Christa Joy

There are times I just want to vent and rant and scream. But I can't.

To clarify, this isn't about my husband. He's one of the few people at whom I rarely want to scream.

Its just to the general world.

I've got a lot of anger. That's a bad thing I know, I really do well holding it in. God helps me just give it over to Him. But man, I used to have it out with my parents. Am I allowed to admit I've made my own, beautiful, sweet mother cry? I feel so badly about it. Honestly, I'm an angry person. I journal it out, and I'm normally fine. And don't worry, I won't grow into a beast and beat you. I've grown out of hitting people. I hate to admit all this. But for some reason, the human need to confess overtook me.

I want to be a peaceful person, and on a whole, I'm chill, but too often, I'm an angry person.


Would you have guessed it?

What is yours? Are you angry? Lonely? If you want, you can catch a firefly with me.

(In the past, if you caught a firefly, you had to share a secret.)

Every have one of those days where you have so much to do, but before any of it can get done, you just need to write?

Today is one of those days. I feel thoughtful.

I slept ridiculously late, which makes me feel bad cause Josh had to be out the door by 8:45. Now 8:45 doesn't sound too bad, until you think about how he puts in 8 hours of work after he gets home from school. So, while we still have the newly wed thing going on, I'm learning that stage in life call "never see each other". When he is finally home at night, we're both normally tired and he has homework to work on. I must say though, I'm so proud of him. He's working so hard and being such a fabulous husband. When you have a great husband, you really wanna be a great wife. Thus, I've been working hard, for me, to not be so dang lazy and get a schedule going. The verse I've been memorizing is:

"An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain."

~Proverbs 31:10-11 (ESV)*

I, of course, want to be an excellent wife. Josh has heard me say "oh I'm going to get such and such done." And then I don't do it. I'm home alone 8 hours a day normally and the house is messy. That's dumb. He basically never fusses, but when I asked him if he thought I could do better for two weeks, he said "I know you can. But I don't know you will." And it was the answer I deserved and expected. I want him to be able to trust me.

So for two weeks, I'm putting aside the pressure and stress of looking for a job, and just being a wife. Which is no just. Its something Josh totally supports. When we had a a big heart to heart the other night he said, "I really think it's why you haven't gotten a job." A sort of being faithful in the seemingly small. "I've tried to hint at that for a few weeks. Cause you are great and have been qualified, and yet 4 interviews and no job. Yes, the job market is bad, but it's what I've felt for a while." The most we talked, the more I knew he was right.

So I'm trying to be "content" (but not stagnate) and actually journal and read my bible and have a wonderful, peaceful sanctuary for Josh to come home to. God showed me that if I do that, how much more creative Josh (and I) will feel free to be. And seeing as Josh wants to use his creativity to work, that would quite possibly bring us gain. He also showed me that when I am able to take care of my "little" house here, maybe then I'll be ready for one of my own. :-D I'm actually very excited. Such a burden lifted off of me.

Also, I want to coupon. lol.

Not that I've gotten that out of my system, time to brag on my most wonderful husband.

Josh has been so romantic lately. Some of it I can't tell you, but he has been too incredible for words. Some of it has just been little things such as gently rubbing my neck while I was trying to work out a problem I was having with a school assignment, or pulling me close while watching a movie, or putting his arm around me during church. Now he does that sort of stuff regularly, but on top of how sweet he's been, it was so nice. Some of it, like I said, either for rating or a lack of ability to explain, I can't write. It's just an overall tenderness and gentleness. And as a general rule, Josh is fantastic. So for it to be more so enough that I noticed...
Oh! And I had a really painful tendon in my arm the other day and to top it off, my knee was bruised to the bone. I'd mentioned it in text messages, and that night he brought me a pack of heart shaped Reeses. It was so sweet. I asked if when he went in to get the soda, did he just wander around the Valentine's section. He said no. "I saw them the other day when we were wandering around, and tonight when I went in the store, I knew exactly what I was getting you, cause I knew you didn't feel good." Aawwww.

And our "date day", heh, it just makes me do a very happy sigh and smile. Here's the story.

Sunday was his day off, the first Sunday off in at least 2 months. We'd been tucking away dollars so we could go on a date to the movies, so we decided to go Sunday. So we slept in. (our church was at night that day. Hmm... "night that day". Weird.) Then we got up and started getting ready to go, cause we wanted to catch the matinée and have lunch too. I got a little dressed up, but not a ton. We'd been planning to go to "Five Guys" restaurant. They have the best fries lol and MALT VINEGAR for them. What a yummy Australian throw back. Buuuttt, as I'm putting my make up on, Josh says "I'm gonna take you to Showmars today instead." I was slightly disappointed at first, but I decided that eating out was eating out and if he wanted to take me somewhere new, fine. We get there and they have gyros! I absolutely adore gyros. Josh told me to get anything... and I picked the gyro plate, which turned out to be way more than I could eat. But it was so delicious, as was the strawberry milk shake we got. The food was great and the atmosphere was nice, but what made it so fun was Josh's face. I could tell he was loving being able to treat his wife to lunch. He absolutely exuded pride and love, enjoying getting to spoil me. It made me feel like a queen. (Hey! We don't have a lot of money, so don't knock why a gyro would make me feel so good!)
The movie was wonderful. We headed home for a little bit, and then headed out to church. It was really good, and we officially told them we would be involved with the church. It's just starting out and Sunday after this, we will join a team at 7 am, setting up the church in a movie theater. Pretty cool yeah?
That was basically the date, cause when we got home, Tina wanted everyone upstairs just to have a family talk together. It was really good and we had a lot of laughs.

Well I feel like I've said my piece and gotten peace.

So feel free to comment and tell me a great date you've had, or a yummy gyro. lol

Love,
Christa

*from Biblegateway.com

Okay, so this is a quick post, because I have house work to do. (Praise Jesus)

I am alive. I think most of you will be glad to know that. I had a fabulous holiday. I will be blogging more, I'm setting time each day to journal and read my bible and I think I'll throw a blog out at the end of those sessions.

School... is awesome. I was so nervous, but once I've had my first class, I'm fine. I'm thinking Sociology will be my favorite, and Public Speaking the hardest, simply cause of writing the speeches. My teacher in that class is a huge Firefly fan (the show) and is a fan of that director period. She's even written a book about his works. Pretty dang cool.

Melly sent me this fabulous video and I had to share it on here.



Seeing as if you read this on Blogger, you are most likely a blogger, you can probably appreciate this.

So question....

Should I do a vlog?

I have to share this verse about eating meat, since sadly, I'm quite the carnivore. I wish I wasn't, but I am.

Deuteronomy 12:20 (English Standard Version)

20"When the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire.

And I say, Amen and Amen. Sorry to you who are vegetarians. I applaud you for being such, I just am not one of you.

Oh, sad news, Obama is planning to reverse the abortion ban. How can we be a nation of freedom and yet kill our children. Something very messed up about that.

So I hope this will do for an update.

Love ya!
Christa Joy