Tweezers or Jaws-O-Life?!

Jesus the Healer. He wasn’t joking about taking your heart, in the state that it is in—hurt, suppressed, bent out of shape, and bubbling over with abrasions that go deep to the core.

Hearts can’t technically break, it’s more of a metaphorical breaking, we all know that. So I say, if were going to use metaphors, why don’t we just get a better word that’s more realistic. Like bend. Hearts bend, just like a sweet matrix move dodging a bullet moving at the speed of sound. I mean, think about it, if you were to picture a heart breaking I’m not sure you would be convinced that this could actually happen. But if you were to picture a heart bending away from something—it’s still there, fully intact and slightly misshapen.

After they bend out of shape, it’s up to the proprietor (or proprietress…I just wanted to make sure I could say that word once in my life) to fix it or take it in to get fixed. Many choose to be the at-home, DIY type, where they can get a play-by-play or step-by-step instructional guide. But the wiser, more discerning type know that the only way it will be fixed is taking it to the one who created the heart. The one who knows the exact problem upon appraisal. Then, He pulls things out of the heart that have caused it to be so misshapen and callous and asks why they are still there. Why haven’t you taken this malformed, crooked, deformed heart to him sooner? He would have gladly helped you tweak things so that they wouldn’t turn into a bigger problem. Instead, you will then have to resort to taking jaws-of-life to pull things out. So it’s up to you and me—tweezers or jaws-of-life?

Chi-Town

This weekend I made a great trip to the windy city to visit a friend (Samantha) who is doing part of her student teaching there. We started the weekend off at the Navy Pier and then headed to downtown Chicago just as it started to rain. It started to rain pretty heavily so we headed into a grocery store which turned out to be a gem. It was a mix between a Trader Joe's and a great coffee shop/cafe. Every once-in-a-while I have a laugh attack and forget to bring my epi-pen with me...this is when it happened. We were getting our coffee at the bev. station and it hit me like a brick wall. I lost all control and about peed myself. So that was pretty enjoyable. We headed out to brave the storm and it actually had calmed down a bit. My favorite stores had to be crate & barrel (definitely could throw down a few thou on some amazing decor ideas), H&M, and Niketown. I ended up only spending about $15, exercising some extreme self-discipline.

Later that night we headed to china town for some deliscous couisine...or so we thought. It started off by having to fetch the waiter to get our order because he was definitely not going to be over to our table in a while. So, the choice order was a Thai rice dish in a pineapple. We had seen a few other people order this and it looked awesome... I mean, it was in a pineapple, what else could you ask for?! So let's take a moment and dig through why this was a bad choice. Reason number one: Having the title be so broad as to say "Thai Rice" and make all judgments based off of that. Clearly, if there are no descriptions with a few ingredients you are getting yourself into a night of pain. Reason number two: Looks mean nothing. I feel like maybe I learned this lesson in kindergarden, but for some reason, the rule of not judging a book by it's cover had completely vaporized itself into a gust of chicago wind. So, what happened you may ask....well, as I dug through the pineapple to serve out some rice, I pulled out a little baby squid. As I refrained from throwing up, Samantha coaxed me into eating one of the tentacles. I didn't really get a good taste to even recognize what it would be like before I decided to straight up swallow it. To top the night off, we both ordered bubble tea...one my favs. So I ordered a coffee flavor and could hardly contain my excitement. But, the flavor was, in fact, not coffee but ash tray. The taste of drinking a cigarette. Enough to feel no remorse of tossing that thing in the trash.

So, all-in-all it was a great trip. I enjoyed the windy city and maybe not the cuisine of china town...but I will give it another shot sometime.

Mac's and Sara Groves...

Macintosh. The world of macs is one that liberates and enhances creativity, imagination, and simply sophistication. Okay, maybe not quite the last one, but you get the idea (unless you are a PC user, no offense). Mac has a way to integrate your life electronically and organize all the mumble-jumble that happens...with the help of google calendars. Recently, I had a great experience with iTunes. Here is the setting: I'm driving on the interstate and 3, I kid you not, 3 songs play in a row that have to do with time. It was enough to make me think a little bit about this silly thing called time. Leeland was in the mix starting off with...Time keeps moving on...and someday I'll be who I want to be. Then I got to thinking about who I wanted to be; characteristics that I want people to know me as. I am very motivated by what people think of me, which is not a good thing. Sure enough, Sara Groves is on the line up next. She has a very precise yet uncomplicated way of putting into words many of the things that go on in my head. The song, This Journey is My Own, has some great words about not looking for the praise or approval from men, but from God. It really challenged me and helped remind me of what I am living for. Here are some of the lyrics:

Still I want man’s advice, and I need man’s approval
This journey is my own
Why would I want to live for man, and pay the highest price
What does it mean to gain a whole world, only to lose my life
So much of what I do is to make a good impression
This journey is my own
And so much of what I say is to make myself look better
But this journey is my own
...(here it comes!)
And now I live and I breathe for an audience of one

So there it is. We are not to live for the acceptance of others, only to make ourselves feel better. We live, to honor the king, who has so graciously saved us. So that is why we have a decided disposition, as believers, to bring him glory. Not ourselves glory. Only Him. Repeat, not ourselves. Only Him.

Overdue update of overseas life.

So, I thought I would post about my experience overseas this past summer. Mostly because I've been receiving hate mail from my sister threatening me if I don't. OK, well, that might be a bit dramatic, but you get the point. So, I'll try and list my favorite memories, travels, and experiences so that I don't loose you after a few paragraphs.

1. The Great Wall. Need I say more? Well, if I were to say more, I would say that we were outrageously blessed with a gorgeous day, in which China only has to offer a few blue skies every once-in-a-while. The feeling of being a little ant amongst gynormous hills and mountains has new meaning. God is good at what He does!

2. The Owens Family. They are an amazing family and we were able to spend a lot of time with them. We'd go over for lunch (5 minute bike ride) and then hang out with the kids (8 in all!). I learned a lot about the country, the people, and many different political issues that went on. Also got a good look at how they raise their kids and how they have taken in 4 orphans. I have many favorite memories of the kids and Bill Cosby is so right, kids do say the darnedest things!

3. Bring Me Hope. This is a camp for orphans to come, feel loved for a week, have fun, trust someone, and feel like the are an important human. For most of their lives they feel abandoned, unimportant, and so many other things that their life circumstances have brought them. It was a hard week, jam-packed with activities, not getting enough sleep, and being stretched in my faith in many ways. Each volunteer is paired with a translator, and I happened to get one of the coolest chinese college students of all time. So was extremely eager to hear God's word and personally challenged me to be more eager and thirst more for things above. As we parted at the end of the week she said, "I will let you know when I become a Christian." And, a week later, she did. Praise God.

4. Hangin' with my friend Lydia. It was so great to be able to spend time with Lydia, who lives there now. We were able to do a lot together....even paint her room! Living in Asia really makes traveling to that side of the world easy and I was very tempted, on more than one occasion, to stay there longer and travel around.

5. Chinese people. They are so funny. There is always this idea in my mind, a lie really, that people from different cultures will not have the same humor. But, it's a lie. I mean, many were not able to pick up on sarcasm, in which I had to restrain myself a bit, but there were 2 of my friends there that actually did pick up on it and loved it. Needless to say, these were my favorite friends. Not to mention the dynamics of our friendship. We were able to go from laughing out loud to a very serious conversation. That type of friendship is to be valued.

Life as it is....

Well, I have officially entered the world of grown-ups. It hit me tonight. I didn't really feel like I had yet, but I have. The life of always having something to do with friends and having to turn so many social activities down has passed. Not that it is really a bad thing, but it is just new and foreign. I actually have to plan things with friends now, they don't just come up. Tonight, I was sitting drinking some wine, about to grab a book, and it hit me. I am now an adult. It was like a very subtle initiation into this mysterious place. I mean, I have been an adult legally for a while now, but the reality of it has now come. Let's face it, once you pour that glass of wine and go for the book or maybe turn down anything that will put you at less than 8 hours of sleep...that's the end of all juvenile affairs. So, grown up world...here I come. And hopefully I'll knock out a few books while I'm at it.

Fail Blog by Tracy

Well, It has been a while since my last post...and a lot has happened! I have basically been traveling the US for the past few weeks. Started of with a trip to Minneapolis for a friends wedding. This is the truest form of my "fail blog" because my friend and I missed the wedding! Turns out a combination of bad directions from mapquest (not sure why I veered away from google!) and our oblivion to the fact that Minneapolis is HUGE! Next trip was to Chicago for a spinning workshop. I had just enough time for a jog along Lake Michigan and a great cup of coffee at a little Italian Cafe down the road. I learned a lot, got some good rides in, and am now a Certified Spinning Instructor! And the last and most favorite is my trip to the Big Apple! This was a "work trip" but mostly just because it was with people who workout at the place I work with and my boss did all of the planning. We toured around Central Park, SoHo, Little Italy, and saw Wicked! We lucked out with 2nd row seats which was outrageous. We were so close that you could see them spitting while they were talking and singing. Oh, the simple joys. So, I'm close to my next big adventure which is to East Asia. 13 days and counting.

I love finals!

So, I thought this was quite hilarious...mostly because the only finals I had this week were for my student loan exiting info session....here is the wisdom I gained from it:

YAY! I mean, who wouldn't get excited about starting a final exam, really?

Cheers to a great weekend

My Easter weekend was pretty eventful! It all started off, Good Friday night at the Cornerstone Church service. They made an amazing production called "Ragman", where the Ragman took every one's pain upon himself and then gave them a new life with new hope. That is a very brief overview, but it was very powerful and did a great job of demonstrating a modern day idea of what Jesus actually did for us. It is easy sometimes to see what Jesus did as irrelevant or our lives not in need of what he did, but the truth of it is, we all have pain and hurts from other people that Jesus can give healing to. Not to say that is only why we should put our hope in him. Any who, near the end of the service, Paul Sabino gave a quick message and this is where it started...A lady I knew sitting next to me (an international I might add) had forgotten to shut off or silence her cell phone. So, it rang and rang until she could locate it through the obstacle course of a purse. Then, most would think that it ended there. Au contraire, my friend, au contraire. She then went on to answer the call, in the middle of the message being given in a room of approximately 630 people. Yikes! It gets better, the volume was so loud that I and anyone in the vicinity could hear the entirety of the conversation. She tried to make it quiet, but the voice on the other side was just too loud to make any difference. Case and point #1: Internationals have a much different cell phone/public behavior etiquette than most -- yes, I am going to go with ALL Americans.

Later that weekend...The very next day in fact, my family and I went to a new Mexican restaurant. The cuisine was great, yet not the healthiest option, but I still enjoyed the food. As I observed the server seating another group, I noticed his head, in a potentially cramping position, and had his ear pinned down to his shoulder. Sure enough, he was talking on his phone. No shame. No cares. Just a simple conversation. He continued to work, talking on his phone, refilling our drinks, still chatting away. I hope he isn't going to go over his minutes this month. We left, and a while later I remembered that I left my sunglasses there. So, back we went, eager to find one more story to tell. Sure enough, I stepped in, asked the hostess if they found any glasses, and they did! Just as she removed her curling iron from her hair, she handed me my glasses. I'm not sure what else to expect, but I continually love being surprised by the etiquette of each culture, or maybe just the laxity of a few people I've met.

Bathroom Breaks

I don't know what it is about traveling, but taking bathroom breaks need to be made into a science. As I am spending about 2 solid days on a bus going down to Florida, I have had time to reflect on this issue. First, you start drinking water. Then, you stop to get coffee. Then, you are back on the road again and are in dire need of using some facilities. I'm not sure what it is, but once you realize you have to go to the bathroom, there is some kind of chemical imbalance that happens in the brain which makes you think you are actually more thirsty with a full bladder. I am going to blame this on an overactive hypothalamus. There has to be some correlation between buses and the hypothalamus.

Dallas Tidbits...

I recently took a trip to Dallas, Texas. I was kind of hitching a ride with my family because my brother-in-law, Mitch, was attending an annual swine conference. My mom and sister went too. Here are a few of the highlights of the trip:

Highlight #1: The food. My mom and I are officially pros at finding the best restaurants in town…well, in walking distance of our hotel. Food favorites include a grilled salmon salad, EatZi’s (because of the awesome food and super fun atmosphere), and finally a fun café for breakfast with great coffee. All of the places we went to had outdoor seating…so we took full advantage of that! Our last stop was in the big KC. We ate at a fun breakfast place where there were a lot of business people having meetings. My favorite part was when Kate politely thanked an innocent customer for the service thinking he worked there. I was rolling for a while over that one!

Highlight #2: Catchin’ up on the zzz’s. Kate and Mitch’s hotel was about 4 miles away, and I might add that they had the free parking ramp. So we (my mom and me) had to be dropped off at night before they went to their dinner outings. It seemed fine, but now that I write it out...Yea, basically our chaperon. Without out a car, we couldn't really do much besides go to dinner that was walking distance of our hotel and then come back. After those long days of walking everywhere, we were alright with cashing in early. One night we brought back some delicious food and wine and ordered Slumdog Millionaire. It was awesome!

Highlight #3: Zoo & Museum Day. Our day started off with some cloudy weather, so we headed to the 6th Floor Museum (JFK). It was super interesting and I learned a lot. Then, as we headed out, the clouds cleared and the sky was beautiful with the sun shining! We headed to the Dallas Zoo and enjoyed some tours, awesome animals (My favorite was definitely the Zebras!), and the sunshine!

Highlight #4: Luxuriously small gas station restrooms. Need I say more?

Highlight #5: “Very Important” things that you pack but somehow don’t even use. I am admittedly one of the worst packers and don’t enjoy any part of it. There is always the stress of forgetting something, or realizing you have to pay up the wazoo for some dumb item you already have. This time, I had floss and mouthwash I used once (I’m not ashamed), 2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of jeans, 3 shirts and one pair of sandals I didn’t even touch. I also brought about 4 books--read about 10 pages in 1, skimmed another book, and didn’t touch the others.

pictures still to come....

PB Correction...

So, turns out that you need to add a lil' sumthan sumthan to help get the peanuts broken down and creamy...I added about 1-2 tablespoons of oil per cup of peanuts and some honey. It made really chunky peanut butter, and I could just sit and eat it plain and not feel too bad about it. Overall, the process was a bit lengthy, but I rate it at 7 out of 10 for an overall goodness level. I also tried out some sweet potato pancakes this past weekend...they were amazing. Let me know if you would like the recipe!

Homemade Peanut Butter!

I was on the farm a few weeks ago (one of my friend's grandparent's), and I had the privilege to delight in homemade peanut butter. It was amazing. It was one of those things where you feel like it is so simple and you have missed out your entire life! Duh, was the reaction I had. So, how do you make it you ask... well, if you have a food processor or even a blender you can make homemade peanut butter too! The ingredients: Peanuts (Crazy, I know!). That is it. All you need are peanuts and a blender. So, that is what I am doing tonight. Why not spend your Sunday night blending up 5 pounds of peanuts? It is so simple (actually I haven't made it yet, just sounds easy) and I will be sure to update you if that changes.

I thought I would add some of my pics from the farm for you to enjoy! One of the highlights was playing the accordion. What a rush. It is an instrument that has been looked over and deemed obsolete, uninspiring, and downright frumpy. I would beg to differ.

Internship: Week One

I have officially completed an entire week of my 15 week internship at Advanced Fitness & Performance. AFP is a business that does specifically personal training (that's what I want to do). If you were a client and came in...this is what a typical workout would look like: You walk in, warm up on an elliptical or treadmill for about 8-10 minutes and then you get your workout. This is where it gets good. Your workout is specifically designed for you and your training status. Very rarely does anyone get the exact same workout that they have done previously, unless there is a purpose behind it. So, if you know what the names of all the exercises are, you pretty much do your workout by yourself with minimal assistance. If you are newer, then you will get mainly one on one time with a trainer depending on how many people are there. Typically there are about 2-6 people working out at a time, so it is a small place. AFP also is one of only a few places in the Midwest that has the Gravity Training Systems. This is probably my favorite part. The Gravity Training System, or GTS, is similar to the Total Gym that Chuck Norris endorsed a while back. It is just a more commercialized and industrial machine. The combination of gravity working against you (or with you, however you see it) with your own body weight makes for a killer workout. You can manage to get a full body or sectional workout (arms, legs, abs) in under 30 minutes and not be able to walk the next day. It's that good.

I have always been entertained by those people whose occupations provide a lot of good stories to tell people. I am becoming one of those people. I can not believe how many good stories come out of purely awkward situations! Yesterday, there wasn't an awkward situation, but someone told me that I should maybe consider being a comedian over a personal trainer. I was flattered and said I might consider it for a part-time job, get some extra cash. I was actually making fun of his push-up form. At first he was like, "seriously, this is soo easy." And then on his second set (out of 3 total) was shaking from fatigue.

Snowboarding 101

I went on my first snowboarding trip late last week. I thought it would be a nice way to end my winter break with a bang. And it did.

The morning began at 5:20AM. Got ready, headed to a friend's house about 45 minutes away, and then headed to Minneapolis in the infamous "Blue Paradise". BP was the ride of choice--well, it seated 7 people, so it was perfect in that respect. BP did have a heater, however, floor heating was inadequate and the outside temperature must have had something to do with the cool floor temp. I'm not sure if you have experienced cold feet lately, but there is just something about it that makes you miserable. Your entire body can be at optimal temperature, but the second your feet start freezing, you're gone.

We finally arrived at Afton Alps, got our lift tickets, rented a board and got on the good ole bunny hill. There were many challenges from the day, so let's just start them off now...

CHALLENGE #1: The Ski Lift
Getting on the ski lift isn't too bad, but the anticipation of getting off is terrible. I was planning the whole time how to do it that I couldn't even think of what direction to go once I got off.

CHALLENGE #2: Getting Up
Once you have your feet strapped in this thing...you are completely immobile. The thing about snowboards I've learned, is that they have this intrinsic ability to make a fool of anyone. You get half way up...and then just fall down. Repeat 9 times. Once I got up I made it about 10 feet, fell, and then did everything all over until I found the bottom of the the hill.

CHALLENGE #3: Black Diamond
After ONE run through of Nancy's Nursery (the bunny hill is seriously called that, I'm not sure how they could have made the name any more humiliating) I got some encouragement from my friends to go on a green slope. They told me it was exactly the same as the bunny hill, just longer. This sounded good, so we headed up another lift. A friend and I were on the lift together and she was giving me pointers and then ended by telling me to go to the left and she would go to the right.

What she meant was she was to stay to the right and I was to go to the left down the hill by myself. What I interpreted that as was so we wouldn't run into each other. But, those directions didn't really matter because I can't steer a snowboard anyways and just ended up going right with her. I felt Like I was holding them back, so I said you just go down, I will watch, then give it a shot. So, I started down the hill, picked up some speed, started turning in wrong directions, my board caught on the ground and my face made really good friends with the ground. But...this while this was all happening, my friend Morgan was on the ski lift watching and yelling at me to stop. But did I hear her? No, way. That would make it all too easy. So she skied down to the rescue and asked what on earth I was doing on the blue hill right next to the black diamond! Yikes! Well, the story just goes on from there and it took about 20 minutes to tackle the rest of the hill.

SO, I will give you a great visual of my day. It's like in Kung Fu Panda, when he decides to take the challenge of being the dragon warrior...The furious five all take him on and give him a taste of what it is like to be a kung fu master. They relentlessly show their moves and whoop up on him. After each member gets a shot at him and he is laying in a really uncomfortable and unnatural position he is like...."THAT WAS AWESOME!" Exactly my day.

The Great Abyss of Winter Break

I have been on break for a while now, and luckily I have set some goals for myself. I have been learning a lot. Today discovery.com has been teaching me about very important and crucial survival skills. You see, people think that if they really had to perform a certain skill to survive they would be able to fully execute on command. Well, I must be more conservative...or maybe it is because I go to college, but I still believe in good ol' practice and preparation. So, for your benefit and mine, I have made some highlights on how to survive various situations. So here it is:

Situation 1: STRANDED
1. First off, many people do not even know how to use a compass (so I have one up on these yahoos), but this would be an important item to bring on a long hike.
2. Mark tree trunks with the direction you are going so that search teams can find you or you can find your way back.
3. Yell for help. Watch out for rock walls or trees, because these make it difficult to decipher what direction you are yelling from. My only problem with this one is that if you are lost in the woods, the second you find a spot with no trees...you are found, you are in civilization, right?
4. Use a CD to reflect light and get attention. I lose on this one...I would just have my iPod.
5. Now this is the craziest one that I found...Get a chunk of ice. Shape it with the palm of your hand and polish it. When it is clear, hold it perpendicular to the sun and eventually it will create enough heat to start a flame! That is crazy, ice creating fire.

Situation2: How to survive an animal attack
Facts: Bears can weigh up to 1800 lbs.
The bite force from a cougar can crush a human skull
330,000 cougars and bears currently roam in the US.
Let's Learn...
1. Don't feed them. Done.
2. Make noise...don't catch them by surprise. Let them know you are not food. Clap your hands, yell, etc.
3. Freeze. Never turn your back on a cougar or bear. Don't run- they can run 35 mph. No chance.
4. Don't act submissive. Stand tall and slowly/quitely walk away
5. Fight back. That's right. Fight back. Aim your blows in sensitive areas such as the eyes, face, and nose. Use anything you have like a walking stick, rock, or your chuck norris fist.
Bears...
1. Play dead and protect your head and neck.
2. Don't try and climb that tree...they might just follow you up.
3. Once animal is gone, let out a giant sigh of relief... YOU JUST SURVIVED!

El Blogo Numero Uno.

So, it's my first blog. I am transitioning slowly to the real world. I find it fitting to continue sharing my life with others and turn the page to a new chapter entitled: Blogging.


The title of my blog, "Tetelestia", pronounced Tuh-tell-a-sty, are the famous last words that Jesus spoke. Tetelestia (it is finished) is in the perfect tense of the Greek language. The fact that it is in the perfect tense is pretty significant. It means that something happened and it is still in effect today. It is the word you would use when you finish something really significant...like finishing a marathon or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. It means more than just surviving it, it means you did exactly what you set out to do.

So what was finished you ask...well, a lot. All of the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled, the ceremonial law was abolished, sufferings ordained by God were finished, his physical sufferings and life was finished, the price of sin was PAID IN FULL, and the work of redemption was now complete. It is finished. Every sin, covered. The choice is yours, accept or reject. Eternity is at stake.