Letting The Weird Out

Most of my good friends I have had since middle school or early high school. I have acquired a few others over the years through work or through mutual friends. So when we moved to Kansas City the realization that I would have to make new friends all on my own was daunting. I'm social and friendly and make acquaintances easily, but it is crossing that line between acquaintance to true friend that is tricky.

When you first meet a person, in any situation, there is a certain decorum or politeness. I believe it is called manners. When you first meet someone new you don't let all of your weird hang out right after the introductory hand shake. There is the small talk period, the polite coffee date and maybe a group gathering. But when do you let your true colors shine?

I'm weird... ask my husband, ask my best friends, ask my sister. I burp when I drink Diet Pepsi, like a man. I curse, not like a sailor, but more than I should. I dance, literally dance, to music that no one else can hear, jazz hands included. I love show tunes. I hum, all the time, and it drives my husband nuts. I'm inappropriate and I often have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old. There is more, but I can't even share that with you because it is just too weird and we aren't that close...yet.

So what do we do? Sometimes I wait for the other person to make their first weird move, then I let out a sigh of relief, and then let out a little of my own. Once, I just let the weird out all on my own and it seemed to work, but they ended up being just as weird as me. Pretty sure that was an anomaly.

I'm always worried I will offend someone or that they won't take me seriously. I can be more professional than your mom if I need to be, but I also like to be goofy and have fun.

Let me know what you do. How do you let your weird out? When do you let your weird out? Have a funny story about letting your weird out? Please share!

7 Years and Waiting

The current series at our church, Heartland Community Church, is covering the topic of waiting.  The first sermon from this series was basically mind blowing. If anyone got a look at me during the service they probably would have seen my jaw on the floor. I relate to services on a weekly basis, but this particular one felt like it was written for Tom and me.  The part that stuck out the most for us was when our pastor, Dan Deeble, talked about feeling leap-frogged by everyone else. Why would God let all of these good things happen to what seems like everyone else and leave us in the dust...waiting.

Married sever years today! God is good.

I had this master plan late in high school and early in college. I would be married by 23, have my first kid by 25 and be making a six-figure salary by 30.  Well, I am married that's about all I can check off that list.

Tom and I find ourselves constantly comparing ourselves to our friends who have houses, kids, nice cars, and are both financially and professionally in a good place.

We live in an apartment, with a 10-year-old car and an 18-year-old one, debt, and we are both unemployed... Living the dream, lol.

Why aren't things clicking for us, when is it our turn, why do we keep hitting speed bump after speed bump in life while others seem to be floating through?

The answer is, because it isn't time yet. God doesn't just want us to have a house, he wants us to have the perfect house. He hasn't given me a job yet, because the perfect job hasn't come along. Tom got cancer so that we could bond and grow closer as a couple and with our families and friends. Also, so that others could be inspired by his story. I know it helped me grow my relationship with God. We hadn't had kids yet, because can you imagine how awful Tom's cancer and transplant experience could have been with kids? When we make our own plans and try to control life it only results in disappointment and feeling as if things are going the right way.

Our focus needs to be having God with us on our adventures, asking for what we are waiting for through prayer and enjoying our life in the present. 

Tom and I are very blessed, bad junk aside. We have an amazing and supporting family, a roof over our heads, food on the table, friends to talk to when things feel overwhelming and the fact that tomorrow is a new day.

The other stuff, will come in God's time.

Want to watch the service that dropped my jaw? Go here: The Kingdom

Reflecting on Age with "The Neighbors"

Tonight, Tom and I watched the movie The Neighbors, staring Seth Rogen and Zach Efron. It is hilarious. What a great comparison of the changes that happen from our twenties, to our thirties and beyond. That stage in our life when we move from the selfish me attitude, to more of a we attitude as we find significant others, start professional lives and families.

Check out this e-card (photo), SO TRUE!
I don't feel old, but if you would have asked me ten years ago if I thought being thirty-two was cool, I would have laughed at you as if I wasn't ever going to reach that age... Well, here I am, and proud.

We change so much from the time we graduate high-school until we hit twenty-five and then do another 180 before we hit thirty. I don't have the wisdom to know much beyond that but I am sure that we keep adapting and changing as our priorities and families morph.

Tom and I look forward to certain aspects of getting older, and we do enjoy different things now. In the movie, the "older" couple (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) talk about the things that they get excited about. She said, "She likes to go to the container store and buy containers", and he said, "He gets excited about the smell of fresh ground coffee".

Tom and and are the same way. You should see my Christmas list. It includes a  12" skillet with a lid, new kitchen towels, a giant letter Z and baskets to organize my closet. That would actually make me happy. I am excited for the day when I get to pick out and buy new appliances. Who knew that some day I would get excited about these things?

This movie was funny, but comedy aside it made me realize how much I appreciate how much I have grown as a person. From the partying college kid, to the somewhat grown-up thirty-something. I am sure I will be reflecting back on my thirties in ten years with a whole new, more mature outlook...and I can't wait.

Alone Time Doesn't Need To Be Lonely

I am a social butterfly, ask my mom or any of my teachers growing up, but not my 5th grade teacher Mr. Dodge, he thought I was disruptive, whatever. I love to be surrounded by friends and family. I like to work with people. I even like strangers...for the most part.

Usually, when I have had a bad day or things just weren't going my way I would call up a friend, a family member or go somewhere to be surrounded by people, usually the mall (It's a problem). It wasn't until last week that I realized how rewarding and refreshing being alone can be.

Back-story - My husband was diagnosed with Leukemia on December 23, 2013 and then received a Bone Marrow Transplant on February 21, 2014. I have been his primary caretaker ever since. This included three months total in the hospital, followed by daily doctor visits, lots of prayer, and little time to myself. We are now down to doctors visits every other week, but Tom is still very weak and can't drive on his own yet, so I run all the errands, clean, cook and whatever else needs to be done. Most of the time I don't even realize how busy I am or how worn out I am. I just do it, because I love him so much.

Last week for the first time since his diagnosis, he went back to Iowa to visit family and friends and I stayed behind. We hadn't spent a day apart in nine months. Literally, we were together all day, everyday that whole time, unless I was running errands or something.

I mean seriously, does it get any cuter?

At first, I was miserable...and I went shopping (like I said, it's a problem). Then, once I got home and over the guilt I felt from buying something, I sat down and started to read a book. I don't even remember what book it was, that's irrelevant, because then I started crying...like bawling. I almost got up and closed the windows because I was crazy sobbing. Ugly cry!  Don't feel bad though, it was at that moment that I couldn't even remember the last time I had cried. I was so busy staying strong for Tom that I hadn't let it out. I even met up with a friend for a drink and I cried...at the restaurant.

That night I got the best sleep I had gotten in months.

This happened every single day that whole week. It was amazing. Sometimes I would be crying and then start laughing because it was so crazy. I was a hot mess. The littlest thing would set me off, like our dog Bella looking at me with her adorably expressive eyes and cocked head. (See photo)

I spent the rest of the week enjoying my alone time. I got a massage, took long baths and let myself cry. Being along doesn't have to be lonely. Sometimes we need that time alone to reflect, process and deal with the chaos in our lives. Now, I try to find at least an hour a day to just be alone. Sometimes it is with a book, journaling, sometimes it is writing this blog and sometimes shopping (but not as often...I'm working on it).

*Side note - I don't want my husband to leave again any time soon, at least not without me, but his absence made me appreciate the me time :)

God Time

I have really been trying to spend more time alone with God, reading about him, praying, and most recently diving into the Bible. I think it is important to not only learn about God from those around us, and from books written about God (although those help), but to really take it upon ourselves to teach ourselves.

Reading the Bible has always been on my bucket list. I've tried and failed a number of times. To be honest, I am still working at completing the task. I never really knew what I was doing. It's like trying to bake something you've never baked before without a recipe. I have tried a number of methods, my favorite is when you open the Bible to a random page and hope for the first verse you place your finger on to be the verse that will define your life. My other favorite, and how I read the Bible for a really long time, was to pick and choose verses to help me feel better. Look up worry in the back of the book and then find the corresponding verse on why you shouldn't. There are also several books of the Bible that I just avoid, because well, frankly they were hard to understand.

People, the answer is in this book by Jen Hatmaker. I just finished reading and I am still using her plan to walk through the Bible. "A Modern Girl's Guide to Reading the Bible" has been the most relateable Bible guide I have ever found. I call it a Bible "guide" because it isn't a Bible study with a theme. It helps you read the Bible and make your own discoveries in His word. Hatmaker's style is hilarious. It is like chit-chatting with your best friend. Bible reading isn't just for the elder women of the church, it is for everyone. We should each spend a little time with the word, and Hatmaker makes it so easy. She helps you with questions to ask yourself about a verse, examples of how she breaks down a chapter. References to have on hand that help you read the Bible and even what all the different kinds of Bibles are. 

I would say I would lend you this wonderful book, but this is going to be my bible to reading the Bible for awhile. Here is where it is available for you to get for yourself:

Amazon - A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study

Barnes & Noble - A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study

Enjoy!!

Welcome

Hello!

I am Megan, and this is my new blog where I will be sharing with you everything from books I am reading, quotes that have moved me, Bible verses that spoke to me and what I thought of the latest movie added to Netflix. Plus I am a huge music fan, so I might include a song from time-to-time that I love. I will also include stories about me, my family, my dogs and my friends...lucky you!

I'm an optimist, so whatever CRAZY things have happened in my life or yours I am positive they happened for a reason and are a part of God's big plan. Sometimes we are blessed enough to see why they happened and other times we aren't, because our crazy happened to help someone else that we might not even know. Either way, good will come of it in some form or another.