INFLATABLE

I never thought I'd live to see this day with a smile on my face. I hope it was a truly beautiful day...the day I heard him dream aloud about so many times...but those dreams never included me. It was all a game. So foreign to me now.

I was talking to Naomi, a good friend from college, on the phone tonight. Although we've emailed, I hadn't talked to her in over a year. Sometimes it is so good to hear the old, familiar voice of a friend. I'm amazed at how quickly I can pick up with my college friends. I think some people will keep popping back into my life for a long time. It will be interesting to see which friendships stand the test of time.

One thing Naomi and I talked about was relationships (after all, we are girls). She mentioned a bit of advice she'd been given by her aunt, straight from the mouth of Dr. Dobson.

"You shouldn't marry someone you can live with. You should marry someone you can't live without."

I haven't met that guy yet...the guy I can't live without...and if I have, I'm supposed to be living without him right now. Some people are in such a hurry to rush into love and relationships. At one point of my life, I was on that bandwagon. But you see, the man I can't live without, is the man I will BEST serve the Lord with. I could be happy with a number of different guys. However, I think there are a select few that I can SERVE THE LORD WITH!! That is worth waiting for! If I'm not blessed with that, I'd rather be single and serve the Lord in that way my entire life.

Some people pressure me to hurry up and just find someone. My students this year told me they were going to sign me up for "E-harmony.com" and were convinced that I was the loneliest person in the world without a boyfriend. My mother thinks the same thing (grrrr!!!). My brother thinks I should get married so I have someone to take care of me (when did he become the overly protective big brother?). My married friends sure don't get it. Mack that up on the list of reasons why I'm completely "weird".

Why do people feel sorry for you when you are single? I don't understand it. I'm annoyed with that mentality. Why waste so much time and energy chasing something God will bring into my life when He knows is best? He's preparing me...he's preparing him too... Only God knows what I need...that's a big part of my testimony right there...but I'm not going to share all of that in a blog!

TURNING A LITTLE CITY

Today I went shopping with my parents in Sioux Falls. It is so strange to me that in Iowa you need to drive an hour to do any amount of serious shopping. Come to think of it, many things about Iowa are strange to me after spending a good chunk of a year in Denver.


Am I turning a little city??? Here is what is weird to me.

1. THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER...yeah, I read the good old Index today. Do you know what the front page story was about? It was about sheep sheering! Why in the world would someone write a story about a couple of men on the farm cutting wool off of a sheep? Also, how many big towns have speeding tickets posted toward the back page? Seriously....

2. I AM AN OLD MAID IN IOWA...and I'm only 23!! I'm convinced that people here wake up one day when they are about 19-years-old and think..."Wow, I'm bored. I've done everything there is to do in Iowa. Hey, why don't I get married?" Maybe that is why I'm so stubborn about having my "single adventure" away from the midwest before I settle down and get married. Well, that and I have found few guys bold enough to dream with me. Ministry-loving people are passionate but fun people.

3. SMALL TOWN RADIO...I was doing dishes one afternoon and you wouldn't believe what I heard on the radio. "LOST by Larchwood, Iowa...a pet goat...please call 555-5555 to claim." Who has a pet goat? More importantly, what kind of radio station actually advertises such a thing?

4. IOWA's MOTTO...FIELDS OF OPPORTUNITIES...Maybe the motto should be "Fields lacking opportunities" or "Fields of only farming opportunities," need I say more? That motto is purely crazy. LACK of opportunities is more like it...I will never live in a place where I can't do some serious volunteering in ministry (yes me, a girl) or get a job doing something I love. I just can't see that happening here.

5. SATURDAY NIGHT FUN...writing a blog, cross-stitching, watching TV, or better yet...going to the tractor pull. Let's sit around and watch two tractors wreck their engines, waste some money, laugh really hard when the green beats the red and catch up on small town gossip. Doesn't sound real cool to me.

6. SMALL TOWN GOSSIP...I think there is a definite difference between being informed and gossiping. Being informed is okay, that requires knowing the person you are talking about. What bugs me is actual gossip and talking about people you don't know. I love going to church on Sunday morning and hearing..."did you hear what so and so did..." Who cares?


Yeah, I could go on and on but then it would sound like I actually hate Iowa. Really, I love this place. It's in my blood. I doubt that I'll ever live in Iowa for more than a few weeks at a time again. But Iowa does have a lot going for it, things people would never know by not spending time here. Maybe that is why I'm so drawn to Michigan. I keep saying that it is the place I'll end up next. Denver is too big for me to stay forever, Iowa is too small. And I always said I'd live within a 12-hour radius of home. For me, that is the best way to be a family girl and still make a life of my own. They are the only reason I'm home...have been home...this summer. If there were more to Iowa than my family, I'd have a really hard time leaving in a week. How can summer be so close to being over? So sad!

JUBILEE

I'm a total sap right now. I'm finally home from a very busy day at one of the places dearest to my heart...my college in a little town in Sioux Center, Iowa....Dordt's 50th anniversary celebration!

When I first walked on campus my initial thought was that it was strange to see so many people with gray hair wandering around, seemingly lost on a campus that has changed a lot over the years. But how awesome it was to gather with more than a thousand people with one thing in common, a love for Dordt and a love for the God who brought them there.

There were only ten people from my class there. Ten people, however, was more than enough to make the day special. After all of the reunions, conversations in the Bean, walking around, banquet, fireworks, and running into random people, a wealth of memories comes back.

It is weird that Dordt is now a memory. Every time I go back it feels as though I never left. Sure, this past year I did have enough good friends there to make it feel like home, and I was contemplating going back for a good part of the year. But maybe it is not the place so much that brings people together, but the lessons learned and the people who leave an imprint forever.

I never wanted to go to Dordt. It took me my entire senior year of high school to admit that I was going there; and when I got to Dordt, I wanted to leave my entire freshmen year. Some decisions affect one's life forever. Surreal to think that I almost passed up knowing some of the most beautiful people in my life, people I've had some of the most amazing times with.

Never thought I'd say this, but I'll admit it...I'm proud to be a Dordt-wart!