Urbana 09 aka- the life chiropractor

30 12 2009

This week I get the privilege of working at InterVarsity’s Urbana Missions convention- an international gathering of students who are asking- “what in the heck does God want me to do with my life?” You can check it out at www.urbana09.org and actually watch to the sessions online!

16,000 students worshipping God!

This is my fourth time working at/attending Urbana.  The first time I attended the conference in 2000, I had such an intense experience with Jesus that after listening to a talk about the servant leadership of Jesus, I walked out of the auditorium in a daze on the cold, snowy night towards the busses waiting to take people back to the dorms. I saw a guy smoking a cigarette and though I’ve never been a smoker, all I could think was “whoa, Jesus just blew my mind- I think I need a cigarette.” After smoking about 1/2 of it and chatting with the guy about how Jesus was blowing our minds and reshaping the ways we thought about ourselves, this world and the people in our lives, I looked at the camel menthol I had half smoked (quintessential college student cigarette right?!) and thought- “gross! why am I doing this?!” and promptly stubbed it out, hiking through the snowy night to the dorm room where I was staying.

Though I haven’t smoked any cigarettes at subsequent Urbana conferences (I promise :) , Jesus continues to blow my mind. This is a place where I am reminded of God’s love for students, his desire to use them to teach and show the world of the priorities of Christ- to demonstrate justice to the poor, to share about the hope and life found in Jesus, to give our priorities and money to the subversive love and lifestyle that Jesus followers are meant to lead. And I’m reminded that I’m meant to lead this life as well- to care about the poor in my city, to talk about the healing love of Christ I’ve experienced, the ways that I need to change my priorities about how I use my money and time so that it doesn’t revolve around making myself more comfortable, successful or beautiful or any number of things I’m tempted to do. The things in my life that have gotten out of whack to care only about myself are shifted back into place by Jesus, the chiropractor and healer of souls.

blinded by the liiiight!

If you do check out the website, listen to Shane Claiborne and Oscar Muriu’s session Dec. 29th- on the webcast. Actually, if you don’t want your life to change, to be challenged to live a more compassionate, simple, generous life- don’t listen to it. It will mess with you in a way that only Jesus can.

the fine folks at toddland and urbana remind you- "jesus loves you...pass it on"


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Categories : inner world, jesus, justice, spirituality

sabbatical dreams

24 12 2009

It’s hard to believe that in eight days I’ll begin a year long sabbatical from my regular job with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship! After seven years IVCF grants up to a year for academic sabbaticals, an amazing gift! I’m actually in my ninth year of ministry and during this year, I plan to  finish my M.A. through Wheaton Grad school.  I was talking with my friend Gracee the other day about helpful things to consider before beginning a sabbatical- I’d love some advice from any other people that have done/are doing one!

Since my degree is modular and my first class doesn’t start until March, I’ll actually have a decent amount of time for other things besides writing papers and reading for class. I’ve been mentally compiling a list of things I’d like to do, so I thought I’d just blog it out and stop driving myself batty with all my dreams for the next year.

Here is what I actually plan to do:

  1. Finish my M.A. through Wheaton. Read like crazy. Learn some rad stuff about evangelism and leadership. Write a lot of papers.
  2. Begin writing a book on “women in witness” based on the seminar I’m leading at Urbana- I’m so stoked about this and still can’t believe I have a meeting with an editor in a few days to discuss it!
  3. Invest awesome mom time with Reuben and wife time with Dave. I’m hoping to take a mom/toddler swim class with Reuben and a dance class with Dave.
  4. Spend time with girlfriends. I always have ideas for parties but often am gone so much or am so tired that I don’t have energy to follow through on my ideas. My latest party idea: “souper saturday”; have a couple girlfriends over with ingredients for soup that we’ll chop, cook and then each take a portion home to eat/freeze having multiple soups already prepared! I’d also just love to be able to do more normal mom stuff- playdates with kids, library reading hours, things I normally don’t get to do on a regular basis because of my travel schedule.
  5. Spend some awesome time with Jesus. I’m looking forward to taking a silent retreat in January or February at my favorite place, The Hermitage. I’m also hoping to be more involved with the moms group at my church and to possibly plan a women’s retreat!

    the hermitage is beautiful year round- even now when it's covered in snow.

Here is what I’d do if there were no limits to my sabbatical (time, $, family committments, etc.) in addition to what I’m already planning:

  1. Take the “fantasy bake-cation” through Zingerman’s bakery in Ann Arbor. A full weekend of learning how to bake world-famous bread or pastries. I would so LOVE to do this! Perhaps I will be able to swing taking one of the classes. I’d love to learn how to make english muffins at home. I’m a glutton for breakfast breads.
  2. Travel: to Kenya- to visit my brother and sister-in-law while they take sabbatical/work there for six months. To Ireland to visit one of my college girlfriends Katie and her husband Rob. Anywhere warm with Dave during the months of January and February when I get cabin fever living in Michigan.
  3. Create and sell artwork, like the peacock prints I made awhile ago. I’ve had a lot more ideas for those types of things but alas- it takes a lot of time to do that sort of thing! I’ve always found I both think and feel better when I have an outlet for creativity.
  4. Do a triathlon this summer. I wanted to do the Reed’s Lake run here in Grand Rapids this past summer, but again, that takes time and money- not to mention a lot of discipline! I think I probably will end up doing a 5K this spring with Dave, but a triathlon would be pretty cool too.
  5. Reorganize my kitchen pantry. This is the kind of stuff I tell myself that I’d like to do because it makes me feel like a better person but when it comes down to it, I really don’t enjoy it.

    help. me.

    If you had a year to pursue your dreams, what would you do? Help me reorganize my pantry? ;)


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Categories : baking, church, food, friendship, grad school, inner world

yogi santa

21 12 2009

even santa gets stressed out during the holidays

Even Santa partakes in the downward dog to work off some of those holiday cookies and eggnog :) Are any other ladies feeling like Spanx will become your new best friend in 2010?  It’s never too late to join in the 12 days of yoga challenge in December. Perhaps you too have realized that travel makes consistent exercise more difficult- and around this time of year it can feel easier to sit comatose after a big meal than get up and move.  Thankfully, this past weekend as I’ve been in indianapolis celebrating an early Christmas with my in-laws, my sister-in-law  Rachel

found a place for us to drop-in for a yoga class that one of her friends teaches!  The day ended up being a fick ladies outing beginning with yoga, moving on to facials, out to lunch for sushi and ending with a day of shopping. It was wonderful!

everybody warrior pose!

I found the “yogi santa” card at Invoke Yoga Studio and had to buy it- it was just too perfect during this 12 days of yoga challenge. The only other time I have taken a class was through Grand Rapids Parks and Rec & it was a pilates class- I loved it even despite the environment of the Ottawa Hills High School Cafeteria.  Invoke was beautiful, and offers drop-in classes perfect for checking things out to see if you want to commit to joining a session. Most places offer things like this, and actually will give you a credit towards other sessions if you’ve paid for a few drop in classes.

If you know of a yoga studio near-by, check their website or give them a call to see if they offer similar deals.  They may even have January specials beginning in a few weeks- what a great time to try something new to stay healthy this year!

I so enjoyed being in a class with other people, mostly women.  Rachel and I were commenting that when we’re exercising by ourselves, it’s too easy to just put in the time and not really push ourselves.  Well, I was sweatin’ in this yoga class- and even though it was more challenging, I didn’t even realize that it was an hour long class because it felt so good! There is something great about having the accountability of having a class you’re part of to stay consistent with exercise.

Indy's #1 pick for yoga studios!

I also really liked that the instructor could adjust my positioning to help me gain the full potential from various poses- something that you don’t have the benefit of from doing a dvd at home. So, that puts me up to a total of 6 days (30 minute sets) of yoga- 1/2 way there in the 12 days of yoga challenge! Did I mention it’s not too late for you to start the challenge for this month?

I’m hoping that our family will be able to join the YMCA in GR this new year- I’d love to take a mom & toddler swim class with Reuben and to be able to take some yoga classes a few times a week. I intentionally decided not to run outdoors this winter. I did last year and was super motivated to get outside at least three times a week. I’d bundle up, put on my wool socks and brave the cold winds convincing myself just to keep going because I’d soon warm up. But this year as soon as it became colder, I looked outside at the cold winds blowing and thought- nope, not gunna do it, wouldn’t be prudent :)

I think sometimes that’s how we can get derailed on exercise- feeling guilty that we’re not doing a certain kind of exercise so we give up all together.  But, it really doesn’t matter if you’re running, walking, skipping or doing cartwheels to stay active.  The point is to keep moving to make exercise a part of your life.  It felt good to give myself permission to stop running and decide to walk and do yoga instead.  And strangely enough, I’ve looked outside on some sunny cold days and thought- what a gorgeous day for a run!

So, what kinds of ways are you hoping to make exercise a priority in the new year? What has been working for you? How are you doing on the 12 days of yoga?


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Categories : exercise, travel

fick fashion friday

19 12 2009

The Fick ladies enjoyed a friday out including yoga, facials, sushi and shopping. Let the fashion show commence!

How can you beat 40% off at Ann Taylor?

the fashionable male in his new suit.

fashionable mom fick

va-va-va-vreeman!

workin' it!

Funny enough, we didn’t even realize we had bought matching clothes until we got home and started trying everything on :)

oh! you shouldn't have!

This was our “beauty queen” pose :) We did not, however, conjure any fake tears.

sisters, sisters....


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Categories : Uncategorized

what stinks about being egalitarian

17 12 2009

fail

“Just because I can fix a flat tire doesn’t mean I want to.” This was the thought that was running through my head as I fumed about the flat front right tire on our black maxima.  I didn’t know it was flat until I lent the car to my friend so she could go do some errands with her kids. Half-way through fastening their car seats into the car, she stopped and said “uh-oh, did you know your right front tire is flat?” We’ve taken the car to have the tires inspected, had one replaced and have learned that all three of the others have slow leaks. Nothing to do with the tires, everything to do with the rims apparently. Which are much more costly to replace than tires apparently. I thought that she was referring to the slightly soft tire that could use some air, but when I checked the other side of the car it was totally flat. like, looney tunes car flat.

I felt bad because I was trying to be helpful to a friend and it turned out to be far less helpful than what I hoped. Thankfully another friend helped her out. It was also infuriating because I was coming out of MOPS after a wonderful advent brunch, filled with prayer, a great time of fun and connecting and good food. Do you ever feel like when God does really wonderful stuff in your life, almost immediately afterwards there is something/spiritual forces to distract you from and rob you of the joy he’s given you? I started fuming about our car tires, getting irritated at Dave (even though he just brought the car in last month to solve the tire problem), blaming him for the flat tire (not my finest wife moment).  When I got home and tried to sound calm in telling him about the tire this was how our conversation went.

me: “The car tire is flat again. We (i.e. you) need to take it in to get new tires.”
dave: “did you fill it up?”
me: “no- I just want you to take care of it.”
dave: “did you remember that we have the automatic air pump in the car to fill it up? It’s really bad to drive on a flat tire- you’ll wreck the rims that way. You’re a liberated, independent woman, you can do these things yourself!”
me: (annoyed and embarrassed I didn’t remember the car pump) “just because I can change a flat tire doesn’t mean that I want to change the tire.”

Then I think I went on some sort of rant about how I’d change the car tire, bake Christmas cookies, do our laundry for our trip to see the in-laws this weekend, do the dishes and look hot and be cheerful the whole time. (can you hear the sarcasm?)

So, the title of my blog- Dave and I generally share responsibilities equally. He happens to be a better cook than me so he does most of the cooking. I’ve caught up to him a bit, but he’s still better than me. I mow our lawn because he has terrible allergies, and I really like caring for our lawn since I was once a “turf-grass management” major at Michigan State U. (yes, you read that correctly).

But there are sometimes that even though I can do certain things, I don’t want to do them. I don’t like to work on our car. I don’t like to shovel snow. I don’t like to change light bulbs. I don’t like setting traps to catch mice. I can do all of these things, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I want to do them. I don’t know if this sets me back as a believer in egalitarian marriage- but there are some times that I want Dave to do things men have traditionally done. Other liberated ladies out there- how do you deal with this in your marriage or as a single person? How do you negotiate what you want to do and what is simply expected of you because you’re the woman/mom/wife/queen of the castle?

I was more like this queen today than snow white.


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Categories : Uncategorized

Yoga pants: God’s gift to women everywhere

16 12 2009

Sometimes I even do yoga in my yoga pants. Just not this past week.

strike a pose- a warrior pose :)

When it comes to relaxing, this is basically my uniform. And that’s what I’ve mostly been doing this past week. Well, actually not relaxing at all. Stressing out about the stuff I need to get done before my sabbatical in January, figuring out time to do all the Christmas prep of wrapping, baking, getting food poisoning, hosting parties…and as Elaine once said “yada, yada, yada.”

Well this week it was time to slip on the yoga pants and glide into a chaturunga pose- If I’m going to do 12 days of yoga this December, I need to keep going! What helps you to get motivated when you’ve had a longer break from exercise than you intended?

For me this week I was very motivated to relax and stretch my tired muscles. I had been feeling exhausted and tense after last week. Though it also would have been nice to sit on the couch, I could feel the need to release some tension, stretch and breathe. Whenever I need to do some relaxing yoga I pop in Kathy Smith’s Project You Core/Flex DVD.

A relaxing and energizing 20 minute yoga workout.

Dave bought this for me at goodwill after I mentioned that I wanted to get some yoga dvd’s. Doesn’t that make so much sense that you could find great exercise tapes at goodwill?  So many people get stuff with great intentions and then they never use it, don’t like it, or get tired of it. Actually, the project you dvd is so cheap on Amazon, you can probably get it with shipping for under $5. Once I bought it, I burned it to my computer so I can do it wherever I go.  I typically never travel without my laptop so it’s been great to have when I need to wind down after a long day of meetings or want to wake up early and do some light stretching.

Actually, I even encouraged my colleagues to join me over a lunch hour at some meetings this past October.  We had been sitting in horribly uncomfortable chairs in a room at a church. And typically what happens in these meetings are: talking, eating, sitting, talking, eating, more sitting. repeat. It was so much fun and helped to alleviate our numb bottoms! There were even a few male colleagues that joined in and said it helped them to stretch after going running.

So, maybe you’ve hit a wall like I did with the 12 days of yoga this month. Just remember to stop. breath. stretch. remember that Christmas is about sweet little 8lb 5oz. baby Jesus, investing in others, and spreading some love. Taking even 20 minutes to do some yoga might help you to refocus on what’s important in life!


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Categories : exercise

mental hurdles

14 12 2009

I hate it when I really need to focus on something (like work) and am so mentally distracted by other things that are exciting or inspiring me (writing) that I can’t do anything else. For the past week and 1/2 my brain has been buzzing with ideas for a book I have been inspired to write. Why do I say inspired? It felt stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced before- I’ve had a torrent of ideas that I can barely contain. Whether I’m doing dishes, driving around doing errands, eating eggs, all I can think about is this book I want to write! Amazing that it is coming right when I’m about to start sabbatical and will have space to actually write!  Here is the cover of the book- my friend and talented writer, Gracee inspired me with the idea to create a book cover for motivation.

Sorry this file is crazy huge! I was more concerned with drafting some chapters than getting the image cropped properly when I did a brain dump tonight. I still haven’t put my name on the cover I created because that feels like a whole nutha’ level of risk. I realized that after a week and 1/2 of scribbling notes in the car, drafting outlines on church bulletins and basically driving myself crazy with all these ideas and worrying that I wouldn’t remember them all- I just spewed them all out. And I think it helped me get over the hurdle of putting it on paper. I had been trying to push it out of my brain to focus, but if God is inspiring me to write a book the worst thing I could do is to try and stop thinking about it!

Funny enough, I have a meeting with an editor at a conference in a few weeks (a huge answer to prayer) that has nothing to do with this book! I’m pretty excited about this other book “women in witness” that I’m hoping to write about stories of women in scripture and history as well as include my own personal stories of sharing Jesus throughout the years. I’m leading a seminar at Urbana on this & Al Hsu- another talented writer and editor suggested that I pitch the idea for a book based on my seminar to the wigs of bigness at InterVarsity Press. Brilliant Al! Why didn’t I think of that!?

The thing I’m really excited about is that I’m starting a sabbatical (only 18 days to go!)  in January to finish my degree through Wheaton Graduate School- and I’ll actually have space to write! Now I just need concentrate and do my actual work and hopefully be inspired as much as I’ve been to write. Just the last few hurdles of Urbana seminars, fund-raising, Christmas shopping/baking/traveling/wrapping and I’m ready to go.


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Categories : fashion, spirituality, writing

bundle up to party down!

12 12 2009

Santa Clause, his little elf, a snow-storm, burning breadcrumbs and lots of good cheer were enjoyed this past Thursday at our “bundle up to party down” dinner.  Here’s the highlight reel to enjoy!

you can see the squash on the plate at the head of the table.

The squash turned out well, save for catching on fire under the broiler :) whoops! Thankfully Dave was able to just scrape off the burned crumbs to save our dinner. I hadn’t thought about it when I planned it, but the salad of spinach, goat cheese and cranberries was festive and beautiful!

Though I enjoy cooking, I enjoy setting a beautiful table and arranging flowers even more.

We also did some “prom shots” in homage of the dresses we wore for various formal occasions.

"you said wear a suit to the party- this is a suit!"

Some kids across the street saw Sarah & Andy coming into our house and gleefully exclaimed SANTA! when they saw him :)

let me gaze adoringly at my husband......

Joe trying on Dave's velvet blazer...big guy in a little coaaat!

smooooth operators

I think Nate is proposing that they switch to Geico

we opted for the less traditional "on donner, on blitzen" pose

I love hosting parties, but often life gets so busy it feels like there isn’t even enough time to think about throwing one.  Actually, when I had food poisoning (not the flu!) earlier this week I wanted to cancel. But then as Dave and I talked about how much we had been looking forward to the evening, the rarity of dressing up, using our china and enjoying a night of celebration with friends there was no way we were going to cancel- we were too excited! Besides having our home filled with friends and delicious smells, I managed to get an appointment to have my hair cut that afternoon & my sister who works for Bobbi Brown did my makeup. I felt so glam!

twins!

What are some holiday parties you’re looking forward to?  Do you have any traditional foods you make or bake for the holidays? I am still snacking on the chocolate gingerbread I baked! yum!


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Categories : cooking

festivities!

10 12 2009

Tomorrow night Dave and I are hosting a formal dinner for our care group from church and have a very yummy menu planned! I posted a few weeks ago about this & did a flashback of the dress options I have for tomorrow night. Which one did I choose? You’ll just have to check out my post after the party to find out! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone all dolled up in their evening-wear finest!

Here is the yummy (and healthy) menu for tomorrow night:

baby spinach salad with craisins and goat cheese
warm crescent rolls
stuffed acorn squash with white beans, chard and chicken

Never tried these but they look pretty! Here's hoping they turn out!

chocolate gingerbread
assorted appetizers and drinks

I just got a subscription to Eating Well magazine and checked out their website- good stuff! The link is for the acorn squash recipe if you want to try it yourself. I’ll let you know how easy it is after tomorrow night! I like the magazine because they feature healthy, inexpensive meals with a lot of things that most people have around their homes.

The chocolate gingerbread has become a Christmas tradition- it’s from Nigella’s Feast cookbook in her “chocolate cake hall of fame” section. I only make it at Christmastime because it is really rich- perfect for holiday indulgence! Nigella didn’t have the recipe for it on her site, but I did find one who did: chocolate gingerbread

not that pretty, but ohhhh, so delicious

Now I just need to get the house clean and decorating done! I love the holidays!


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Categories : baking, cooking, food

12 days of Yoga! Feeling less stress yet?

9 12 2009

Last week when I was in Wheaton for a class doing Yoga was a great way to wind down at the end of the night, especially after sitting all day. I don’ t think I could ever do a desk job again- I’m too antsy.

This week I haven’t done any yoga because I came down with the flu or something like it. I just sent Dave out to get me some soup- since I’ve mainly subsisted on ginger ale today. Here’s a pathetic sickie picture for you:

this is what the flu looks like

I am feeling better after sleeping all day & hopefully I won’t be bowing to the porcelain throne again tonight. But me being sick is NO reason for YOU to not do some awesome yoga this week! I hope to be in full strength soon and stretching my sore body.  I heard a great quote in church this week from my pastor- “what we do with our bodies shapes our souls.” Isn’t that a good nugget? He was preaching on sex, but I think that applies to a lot of how we view and treat our bodies.  So, put on your stretchy pants like Jack Black and bust out some warrior poses.

sometimes, when you get older, men like to wear stretchy pants

Here is this weeks FREE Yoga resource. Yoga Journal has free podcasts that you can watch to limber up a little. I will tell you, this one is a GREAT workout. I did it a few weeks ago and could feel it for a couple days. I felt so strong afterwards! If you don’t like the one I provided the link to, just browse through the Yoga Journal site and find one that suits you better. Last week, I also recommended checking out a yoga DVD from your local library.  Especially if you live in towns that have a large amount of hippes living there, like Ithaca, NY- you will find that yoga dvd’s are the only one’s available in the exercise section, like I did when I visited my in-laws there this summer.  May your yuletide be merry and yoga-tastic.


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Categories : exercise

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