Christmas joy?

Have you ever thought that Christmas is such a weird time of year? On one hand, there is this joy about how amazing and incredible the birth of Jesus is. What Christ sacrificed is nothing small or insignificant. It is an incredibly humbling and life changing event that I could go on and on in expressing my thankfulness. The part that kills me about this season is the hurt that others feel. Over the past month, I have noticed this deep pain that grips at the heart of others as this season unfolds. December is one of the biggest times for heart attacks, suicides, anxiety and depression. Why is that the case? How can a month filled with gatherings, community, expressions of love, and reminders of Christ's gift and sacrifice cause more of those things than any other time of the year. How can the "most wonderful time of the year" be so painful? Is there a solution to fix it?

The conversion

Over the past 6 months I have been sitting on the fence between the world of PC's verses Mac's. For sometime now, I have been in need of a new computer that will give me some more speed and better capability for mobility and working with pictures. I knew that at some point, I needed to trade my desktop in for a laptop. It has been a grueling month of going back and forth between being able to take the step and make the purchase. After the events of this week, I honestly thought tonight was the night. I drove all the way out to Oakbrook shopping center. As I got out of my car, my heart was so excited about the opportunity that was in front of me. It was happening, I was converting to Mac. As I walked to the store it was almost like a victory lap (music and all). Then it happened.... I walked to the front of the store and here is what it said...

"This store is temporarily closed for renovations until November 16th. Sorry for any inconvenience."

Closed for renovations? Who closes their store for renovations but doesn't allow people to shop? Do they not realize the agony I have gone through in making this decision? I stood at the door and knocked... yet they were closed.

Is this closed door a sign? Do I give Mac another chance?

Proud Aunt!

Awkward Moment

So tonight I headed out to Oakbrook Mall. After my experience in the Apple computer store, I stopped in a store that sells my make-up to see if I could find some new lip stuff. A guy walked up to me and asked if he could help. I tried to explain what I was looking for and before I really realized what was happening, he was cleaning off some lipstick had it on a brush and began painting my lips with color. As he (yes, it was a dude) was doing this, I was trying hard to keep a straight face. I wish I had a video camera. If make-up is a guys thing, I guess that is cool. I think it was just more the fact that it took me so off guard. He was so intentional with getting each part of the lip and then to make it more awkward, he used his finger to fix up an area that wasn't the way he liked it. It was really odd...

Sticks out like a sore thumb

I have gained more appreciation for the saying, "it sticks out like a sore thumb." Do you realize how much you use your thumb each day? Just for kicks, try to do the following without a thumb; tie your shoes, button or unbutton clothing, open a jar, type on the computer, dry your hair, curl your hair, open a prescription bottle, blow your nose... and the list goes on. It has been two weeks since I broke my thumb while playing in a co-rec softball game. I wish that I could tell you I made some great game saving play at the expense of thumb kin. Unfortunately, the truth is that a guy from the other team came sliding into second head first and grabbed my glove rather than the base. It was just one of those freak accidents that doesn't really make sense. I know people mean well but I am getting sick of the children's song, "Where is thumb kin," or the new nickname "thumbs." The one that kills me the most is the number of thumbs up signs I get. To make it worse, most of the time I don't even know the people. The best was the other day I was at a stoplight and a guy on a Harley next to me looked at me smiled, gave me the thumbs up sign and started laughing. Yeah... real funny. I wanted to roll down my window and give him a few words. Instead I smiled and laughed. Oh well, I guess more than anything it is another reminder on how amazing our bodies are. Each small little part plays such big roles.

Birthday girl!

My beautiful niece-

I can't believe that it was six yours ago that you came into this world. How time flies. I can't imagine this place without you. God has created you into a beautiful and talented young lady. You have such a sweet loving and caring heart. God made you into a special little girl and I am so proud of you.
Happy Birthday Mikayla!
I will love you always,
Aunt Debbie

My view at the Cubs game...

So this afternoon I was at Wrigley Field and I would like you to see the view that I had to dodge most of the game. First of all, why? Why is this the shirt that he chose to put on this morning. Was he really looking for an answer? Personally, I would like to kick him in the wiener for thinking that shirt was OK to wear. Honestly...

Aside from the ridiculous view, I saw what I like to refer to as home run derby. The cubs put on quite a batting display as they put Pitsburg to shame. To top it all off, the brewers are another game back. Cub fans, this is the year! Keep the W's a rolling.

Co-Rec has begun

Game Highlights

• Nick Plassman struck out 13 batters in slow pitch softball. This is his first season pitching!
• Our ladies kinda put on a display in the field and carried the team for a bit! It's always fun when the girls play better than the boys. It doesn't happen very often so it has to be celebrated when it occurs!
• Short little muscle man from the other team came up swinging as hard as he could on two different occasions. Not only did he strike out, but he looked like a fool... slow pitch strike outs are the best comic relief!

Our fall season of Co-Rec softball is underway. Our team is starting off the season with a 4-2 record but I am believing that we are going to make it the whole way this year. I think my favorite part about this season is the fact that two of my worlds are coming together. We were looking for players this year and I was able to recruit some friends from school to join us. I feel like there is a lot of times in life that I live in separate worlds and I don't know as that is a good thing. I have church friends, work/school friends, college friends, high school friends but I never really do a lot to bring all the worlds together. Is that right? I am not sure, but I think I need to work a little less at being a good friend and start being a influential friend.

StuCo Kick Off

On wednesday, we launched our student community for the fall. We have done quite a few changes this semester and with all the change and excitement comes this stomach twisting feeling of nerves. It was awesome! I truly believe that God showed up in huge ways. We had a record number of students for both the junior high and the high school students. The yellow box was transformed into this amazing connecting space and phenomenal worship space. It couldn't have been any better. We have two Nintendo Wii's, a great place for students to buy dinner and snacks, ping pong, basketball, dodgeball, Foosball and then students go into this amazing new auditorium to hear a message and do some singing. This year is going to be awesome! I am pretty blessed to be a part of something this great!

No longer a coach

It has kinda been a crazy couple of weeks. Over the past year or so, my mind has been going back and forth on this whole idea of getting more involved in youth ministry. I didn't really know what the thoughts were or why I had them but most of the time, I just pushed them back in my head knowing that as a teacher, I had to coach. The reality of being a coach meant that I didn't have time to get more involved in this whole picture of ministry. Over the past three months, I felt like the pressure to move away from coaching was put hard on my heart. There have been some big things that helped me realize the time has come to hang up the coaching hat and open the door to a little different road. I will begin my journey in youth ministry this week and to be honest, I am pretty nervous. It all seems so surreal. I have prayed about it for so long but I never actually thought something would happen.

A bitter sweet week. My past five years of coaching have been absolutely amazing. I have met some amazing young women and have been a part of a great team and program. I have learned a lot from the girls, other coaches and I hope in the process, I was able to plant a seed in their lives as well. It will be tough to watch from the outfield this spring but I know without a doubt that I am following the path that God has asked me to follow.

The greatest feeling

Today I had one of those moments in life I will treasure forever. There were about twenty people standing outside the church waiting to enter for my nieces baptism. I was surrounded by the grandparents, great-grandparents and others aunts and uncles to my nieces and nephews. When my brother and sister-in-law walked in with the kids, Mikayla and David looked around the room, laid eyes on me and came running into my arms screaming "Aunt Debbie!" There was something about being the one they ran too that was the best feeling in the world. I swept them up into my arms and gave them the biggest hug. I told Mikayla how beautiful she looked and made sure David knew that he looked handsome and was getting so big.
I wonder if God gets that same sense of the chills when we come running back into his arms?

A must see

So the time has officially come to head back to school. In less than three days, I will say goodbye to the summer days and jump back into the "real world." I was feeling a lack of excitement for the year so I headed over to blockbuster tonight to see what I could find. I came across the movie Pride. After watching it, I must say that that I highly recommend it. I have to admit, I am kinda a sucker for the underdog sports movie. It is a great movie that puts life back into perspective and reminds me why I am heading back to the classroom on Monday. Watch it, let me know what you think.

David is 3

Sunday afternoon we celebrated David's birthday. He is one happy three year old. I can't believe how time flies. The best part of the celebration was when he was opening his gifts. Did you notice he got the green Koosh? Ironic huh... It was one of his favorite gifts and he spent most of the afternoon taking the ball and flinging it at people and then running away laughing.

The Green Ball

Crazy... I know. For seven days I carried this crazy thing. Someday I will tell you what this green mess has tought me.

A week in the classroom

This past week I headed back to school to get certified as a personal trainer. I am not really sure if/how/when I am going to use this but I thought it would be really neat to have. I spent Monday- Friday in the classroom from 8am to 5pm and then spent my evenings studying for the big test. Aside from the book components, we had some physical tests, practical tests and oral tests. It sounds like it is an awful amount of work but it was actually a great week. For some reason, I found myself really excited about what I was learning. Great stuff to take in the classroom, great stuff for my personal life, and maybe even opened a door to a possibility of working with clients some day.

Go ministries created a video of our week in Haiti. I hope you enjoy it


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuCH6j3rEFY

The LONG trip home

After a week of great lessons, I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready to go home. About two days into Haiti, I began feeling awful. I thought for sure it was a combination of the unbearable heat, lack of sleep and the different food but I really wasn't feeling like I wanted to do a whole lot. My stomach was a mess, and I ached all over. I was really struggling with feeling an obligation to keep going. A idea that it would be selfish for me not to push through. Within 48 hours of me going down, the domino effect began. In Haiti, it was just two of us. By the time we reached the Dominican, two others hopped on the bandwagon. By the time we were back in the states there wasn't a whole lot left of our team. We are blessed to have doctors that can give us medication to get us healthy.

A change of heart

Today my thoughts changed a little on this place. Yesterday I felt like there wasn't a whole lot of hope here. My heart broke for what I saw and I struggled with what people dreamed about here. I focused more on how much they need, what I/we needed to do to help, and imagined how miserable they must be. After playing with the kids for most of the day I am beginning to believe that we in the United States have it wrong. Maybe the simplicity of life here is better. My hunch is that people here know who their neighbors are and probably know everyone on the street. I bet here they don't use the excuse that they are too busy for family or too busy to take time to show love to those around them.

Maybe there is a lesson to be learned from our brothers and sisters here in Haiti. I think the lesson is the same from all the third world countries I visit. I need to step back and let my brothers and sisters remind me about the simple life. Sometimes it is too easy to let the "stuff" distract us from what is most important in life.

The big rain storm

Our first evening into Haiti ended with a huge rain storm. We took some time in the afternoon to hang out with the children in the orphanage when we began to hear thunder. The director informed us that we needed to run towards shelter on higher ground after we felt the first drop of rain. I thought he was being over protective of us but I soon realized how wrong I was. The rain pounded the earth like nothing I had ever seen. Within 20 minutes, the very roads that we traveled in on became rivers with strong currents. Children ran outside and began playing in the raindrops and danced under water spouts. The adults took time to throw garbage into the moving body of water so that the current of the river would take it down stream. As the waters continued to rise, we watched as it began pouring into peoples homes.

It was almost a difficult thing to watch. On one hand, it was a joy to see the children having so much fun playing in the rain but on the other hand, it was painful to think about the amount of disease that is in the water they were playing in.

Arriving in Haiti

Here are some thoughts from my journal after the first day crossing into Haiti..

"As I am sitting and writing, I am finishing my first day in Haiti. I don't even know what to write except that this place is awful. I have been blessed to see a lot of places in the world but I have never seen anything like this. God, why do people live like this? Crossing the border from the Dominican to Haiti was a night and day difference. There was not only a distinct change in smell but also a change in everything else. The odor is so strong it almost produces a gag reflex. Children are running around naked and there isn't a piece of ground that doesn't have garbage all over it. In Rwanda there was hope of land that people could grow stuff on, there was an incredibly beautiful scene to look at each day. Here is like I would picture hell. There isn't a way to grow any crops, as you walk along the streets there is feces, garbage and naked children everywhere. Hotter than Haiti is an expression I have a whole new understanding for....

Haiti Recap

I am going to give you a little recap of my trip to Haiti. I just returned home yesterday and honestly, it is good to be home.


The next couple of entries will be some entries from my journal so that you can see first hand some of the things that were going through my mind.

Getting ready for Haiti

In exactly seven days, I will be making my way to Haiti. I still can't believe that another year has come to an end and summer is ready to begin. I am not really sure what to expect from this trip but I am excited about the opportunity to serve- even if it is only for a short time. A group of twelve will leave next Tuesday and head to an orphanage in Haiti where we will spend some time doing a variety of things. The part I am the most excited about is being able to play with and love the kids. I have not been to a third world orphanage and I imagine that it will be pretty sad. I just pray that we are allowed to be a beacon of love to these kids. I won't be able to connect to the Internet while I am there but I will be sure to give a play by play complete with pictures when I return! In the meantime, please pray for our team.

Most adorable kids ever

I don't get to brag about my nieces and nephew enough so I thought I would just take the opportunity to show you just how amazing they are. They are so precious! I am a pretty lucky Aunt if you ask me...

I am an aunt once again!

Here is the latest addition to the Benjamin family! I am now a proud aunt of two nephews and two nieces! Being an aunt is the greatest ever!

May I recommend a flu shot!

This past week I learned a huge lesson that will change the way I prepare for the flu season. The flu shots that they often recommend that people ask their doctor about... GET ONE! Looking back on this week, I don't know if I remember a time where I have felt quite that awful. It was miserable and I was basically out of commission for an entire week. Who would have thought that one could actually get diagnosed with the flu. I honestly thought the flu was something that either meant one was throwing up like crazy or they were sick and didn't know what it was so they call it the flu. I never knew there was an actual test that the doctor gives you to determine if you have it.

The crazy thing about getting sick is that it always happens when life is the craziest. Honestly, between selling a house, looking for a house, future career decisions, work and beginning the softball season, getting sick was not something that fit into my day planner. I am just excited to be healthy and super thankful for amazing people that could help me out when I couldn't do it on my own.

Blast 2007

I was able to spend last weekend up at Kalahari resort in the dells with over 250 amazing high school students. The theme of the weekend was Redemption. It was incredible to have conversation after conversation with students who really made some life changing decisions during the course of this retreat. It was an incredible couple of days! There are some weekends in life where I have to sit back and just thank God for allowing me to be a part of something so phenomenal!

Great times had by all

Dish soap in Dishwasher is a bad idea....

What is going to come of the new year?

I don't know whether it is the new year but I feel like there is a lot of change on the horizon. I am not really sure what that is going to look like but I imagine that there may be some big things that will happen soon. Stay tuned...