Dirty Little Secrets

Well, there is a song out now called, "Dirty Little Secret" by the All-American Rejects. The video (which I see occasionally because of my roommate's affection for "MTV Hits" - channel 232 on Greene County Digital Cable) shows a number of people holding post card on which are written secrets - their "dirty little secret" that they haven't been able to tell anyone. Each post card is homemade and includes pictures. Some of them are funny, some are gross and some are heartbreaking. In most cases their face is covered - by a bag, mask, or by the card itself.

For example:
"I haven't spoken to my dad in 10 years..."
"When I eat I feel like a failure"
"I pee in the sink."
"I'm only dating her to get to her sister."
"I leave poetry in library books."

Just to highlight a few. You can watch the video at Yahoo! Music (http://launch.yahoo.com/).

Anyway, I heard on the Today show today that there is a book out of these postcards and as I looked for it online to see what it was about, I noted that there was also a blog which posts people's secrets - thats the basis for the book.

People send in their secret on anonymous homemade postcards and each Sunday the postcards are posted to http://Postsecret.blogspot.com . I've made it a link on the right side of this page as well. Its fascinating, and sad and hard to read - and hard to think what I could or would put on a postcard.

And it makes me wonder why its easier to send that card anonymously than to tell your friends. And it makes me wonder if the burden is relieved by that action, or are they still ashamed, afraid, hurt, bitter, etc?

Thanks for considering with me.

Funny wedding dress pics

Here are the pics I made to send to Chris of Leah in her dress. And she WAS in her dress when I took these pics - I just didn't let her dress stay in the picture.....

(p.s. techie people (i.e. B and Deloy) don't mock my rough photoshop work!)

fun hop - what I need!

I need one of these! If only the ones I bought at K-Mart had a handle, I could use them while I work.

argh - pictures on blogspot sometimes kick my rear!

Here is a body ball like the ones I bought for the fitness center. ABS ROCK!

wedding shopping, and other shopping.

I did a lot of shopping this weekend (to burn some of my "lot of eating" calories, I guess).

Wednesday I did some shopping on-line. I can't say what I bought because some people read this blog who may then have their surprise ruined, but I did discover a new website:
www.cb2.com Its a part of crate and barrel and has some really neat stuff.

Friday I got up early (why do I do this to myself) and headed to Fairview. There was no chance I was going to make it to the really early places - I would have had to LEAVE home at 4am to make it to my favorite (JCPenney) by 5am for the special deals, and I didn't do a super good job of "understanding" the fliers. I went to K-mart to get some DVD's for my brother that were regularly $10-15 for $4-4.50 each and to get some body balls for work. Turned out (after waiting in line) the videos weren't on sale until.... SATURDAY. So I said, "No thanks then, paid for my body balls and got the heck out of there." Next stop Target. Couple items on the agenda: videos for $5.88 and $8.88 (regular $15-20) and some cute stocking stuffers. What was I thinking?? By now it was 11:30 and Target was (to say it nicely) out of stock of every good video - but thankfully they had the Harry Potter videos still (and the Lord of the Rings) and so I got Heather's present and a little treat for me (LOTR) and got out of there almost as quickly as the others (oh, and a veggie tale adventure for some of my young favorite kids living in CA and TX).

At each stop I cut out one of the next stops. I was even going to cut out Wal-Mart, but there was no copy of a certain DVD that I am getting my dad at Target, so Wal-Mart was necessary. It wasn't actually too bad there - busy and fun but not chaos (except I had apparently just missed an altercation between a customer and a salesperson and the customer called the police.... seriously, they were standing on an aisle, talking when I was there!). I got a neat-o video for my bro, and looked for my dad's video - but they only had it in full screen - argh!!

After that I was beat. I went home. Heather and I put up our new artificial christmas tree and I decorated it while we watched Pride and Predjudice (the long, A & E version) - it was great.

Saturday Leah and I headed out early to look at wedding dresses (and ultimately both wedding and bridesmaid dresses were picked out. We had a great time looking and shopping and here are a couple pictures. (above) I can't put up the REAL dress, in case Chris stumbles upon it, but I thought this was funny. I made up these pics and then sent them to him so that he could see Leah in her dress..... :) But the bridesmaid dress is real.

Thats it for now. Lots of movies this weekend, not many calories burned. I'm going to have to get to it so that I can look nice at the wedding. At this rate, any small increase in activity will help. I've taken to using the body ball as a "fun hop" (see other pic above) figuring that any calories burned are good calories burned.

on that note.... god bless you today!
Love, Tiff

Recent Events (II)

Well, the visits and travels are over for a short time, and I'm back to "regular life" - well, sort of. Its Thanksgiving week, so I only have to work 3 days (!) but one of them starts at 5am - yikes.

Recently Brian and Kristen came to visit - LOVELY fun.

Afterward I went to Mississippi - GREAT trip.

THEN, Scotty Kessler came to visit for a week.

This weekend we went bowling at the St. Louis Mills mall in St. Louis. The bowling alley there is like nothing I've ever seen. You must click here and check it out. WOW. Leather couches, modern furniture, weird artwork and low lighting.... and the BEST music soundtrack covering it all - we're talking: Salt n Pepa, Beastie Boys, oldies, 80's, early 90's... so fun. When you click that link, you'll have to navigate some (click the bowling pin on the left, then click the dot on st. louis, then click images at the top) but I think you'll get the idea. Its like "bowling chic"....

The group was big (10 total) but that was the SMALLER group - not all could attend. We bowled 2 games of ladies vs. men and the men won both times.... but maybe it was better that way. Attending were: Liz and Eric Hehman, Danika and Ryan Giffen, Jenn Copp., Jeff Wardlaw, John Donnell, Kelcey Newton, B.J. Schneck and me. Fun group. After strikes we had to do a dance or strike a pose. By the bedlam that was occuring at our lane, you probably would not have assumed that ours was the only sober group!... in fact at one point Danika and I were dancing and fell down - FELL DOWN ON THE GROUND. hysterical. We both almost peed our pants (sorry).

A good friend of mine got engaged on Thursday and today I'm going with her and another friend of ours to look at bridal dresses (!!fun!!). Then tonight.... AMAZING RACE PART-EY at my hiz-ouse!!!! Check out the latest on the "family edition" - its been pretty fun (and funny) but for my money I'm looking forward to when its back to two person teams.

Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday of this week and I'm hosting the party at my house - the Petersons, Penners, Peterson parents and younger sibs and maybe Heather will be in attendance. We're doing potluck and I'm making a second turkey just for fun (and because we got it free).

Thats all for now - I have to go to bible study in 10 minutes.

love, Tiff

Katrina Relief - more pics

Here is a collage of pics from our Katrina Trip. Top left, our tarp showers. Top right, demolition crew on our 1st day of moldy homes. Top middle, moldy and getting ready to tear down. Center, our initial demo crew outside the moldy house. center right - mold. bottom left, me and Heather Ryan being silly. upper bottom center, Erin and Lauren. Bottom center, girls and john at dinner. Bottom right, house before we demolished the walls. that stuff was still there after 2 months. yuk.

Endings, Beginnings and Awkward In-Betweens

So football season is over. Again. My year isn't over (again), though. And soon it will be softball season and soon softball will be over.

I know life is full of endings and beginnings. Its glorious and hard and joyful and sad all at the same time for me. I've never been good at the ending of things. I'm not an "ender" by nature. When I finish something all the way, its a good deal. I much prefer the planning, starting and during to the ending. I just am worn out emotionally by endings.

I'm an "activator" (for those of you who know about the strengths-quest) and that means I'm a "starter" - I love beginnings. I love the promise of them, the hope. I love that they are fresh and I love that part of change.

I don't love endings, but I am learning to be OK with them. Tonight was hard - to see some of my very favorite young men take their final moment with the team and fans; to see them cry and hear their own testimonies of their growth and maturity. I know these men. They have grown. They have matured. They have become men, where they used to be boys. I'm so proud of them.

Then I start thinking about if this is my last season, my last year at Greenville. I wish for it sometimes so badly, but other times I just want to live in the golden twilight that is NOW in Greenville, these men, who I have known for 3 years, the others who graduate next year who started their college careers when I did. The women who I love and admire who are becoming WOMEN of God.

And so I arrive home, in the uncomfortable in-between period. Again. Again I'm wondering if I will stay or go; feeling pulled both ways. Again I'm hoping I will have an opportunity to leave, or to meet the "man of my dreams" and ride into the sunset with him, or know what I'm supposed to do for a vocation next year. And again I am wishing I could stay here forever, working with students, loving athletes and working as an agent of change for the Lord, with friends and people who love me like my own family.

In-betweens. Awkward and Uncomfortable - and yet totally necessary in order to grow. Moses' 40 years in the wilderness, the Isrealites time in Egypt, Joseph's time in jail - etc. I know that this is a preparation time for me.

But that doesn't make the evening and saying "goodbye" to those men and their parents any easier or any less hard. And it doesn't make my future any more clear.

God bless you tonight. May you have wisdom in you in-between times.

love, Tiff

Wal-Mart Hilarity

Sometimes in the midst of great tragedy you also need great laughter.

Reading Resources for Christians

Here is a link to a ministry I respect (New Song City Central) and a series of readings that they have prepared:
http://newsongministry.com/weeklyreadings1.htm

They are readings designed to equip followers of Christ in a number of areas.

Enjoy!

Love, TR

pictures

click this link to see some pictures that Amber East took of the trip.

I'll have a link to some others soon.

CLICK HERE

Back from Mississippi / Louisiana

Here is a link to the places we went last week/weekend.
LA/MS map - on the left, click "5" and then click the "S" marker 1 time - this will orient you to where we were better (you'll see more).

We started on Wednesday afternoon, getting our bus assignments and getting on the road. I was in the "old school" bus called, "Possum Eight" and it was VERY fun. We organized three committees of students: entertainment (goal: to make us laugh), get acquainted (goal: to get to know each other better), game (goal: to involve everyone in one activity). The skit was killer and mocked all of us leaders mercilessly. When the person playing me spoke up, I immediately cringed - because it was just like me! (I recognized myself before they even said my name!)

We got to Picayune about 7:30 the next morning; having slept little bits, and then for one long stretch of 3 hours...... but ready for work. :)

We spent the nights in Picayune Mississippi, (middle of 'adjusted' map) working with Ressurection Life Worship Center.

On the first day the group I was in went to McNeill, MS (north of Picayune - the eye of the storm went directly though their town - sustained winds for 14 hours). We cleared debris from the yards of 3 houses. We worked until dusk and wow, the difference was really satisfying. On the third house they were still displaced and power had not been restored, I was thinking about how neat it would be for them to come home and their backyard is back! No more giant tree and about 1.8 million leaves and branches to be cleared! Its neat to be an answer to prayer that way.
The second day 1/2 of us went to Slidell, LA (south of Picayune, near the north side of Lake Ponchartrain. We had been subcontracted by Res.Life to work with a church in Slidell - called Harvest Ministries. They lost their ENTIRE church facility in the storm, and they had just finished remodeling their entire childrens areas. We worked all day doing demolition (tearing down drywall, pulling up carpet, removing fixtures) - the house I worked in was big, moldy and muddy. And like a bunch of other homes, almost beyond repair. The fridge and freezer had been sitting there, without power, for 2 months.... full. yuk. There were frogs everywhere and the mold was shocking to see (both inside and outside the drywall). We pulled out soaking wet insulation and the carpets and pads were soaked, too. We piled all of this debris outside the house on the street and ended with a pile of trash (that included ruined belongings, clothes, etc) that was 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 feet tall.... the family was great and worked along side us. We had the chance to pray with them and talk to them about God. It was a good day. That night we got showers, provided by another church in the Picayune area. We went to bed for the second night, exhausted. But each night we went to bed later than the previous, as we had more and more evening activities. (10pm on night one.... 11:30 on night two... 12:40 on night three....)

Day 3, EVERYONE headed into Louisiana, and a small group of faculty/staff leaders went into St. Bernard Parish (nearer New Orleans) to demo the inside of a home - worse even than the one we had worked on on day 2. My group went to a house that had been started the day before and worked to complete it. It was neat to find out that it was the house of the granddaughter of the man whose how I had worked on the day before. I got to tell the daughter (mom of the homeowner, and a member of the church we were working with these two days.) that we had prayed with her mom and talked with her family and their friend Joe about Jesus. That was a pretty neat thing, very emotional for both of us.
After working on that house a couple hours we were finished and headed back to the house from Friday (above) to give it some final attention. We didn't get it completed, but did a lot more work in that final 90 minutes.

That evening we showered at a local church (quite an experience in itself - three tarped shower areas complete with gnats and mosquitos and a concrete pad on which to change!) and ate pizza. We worshipped that night with the Harvest Ministries crew at their temporary location (this church) and went back home joyful. We stayed up late, eating ice cream sandwiches, fellowshipping and playing a game of "Big Booty" (if you haven't ever played, you should - its really fun and the people I played with made it hysterical).

Day 4, we cleaned up our place and got our busses packed. We headed to Resurrection Life to worship with them - and one of our team members got to provide "special music" that day. Neat! (go Katie K!) We finished the big group portion of the trip with lunch at Ryan's which our leader (John) had gotten at a discount for us - what a blessing!! We ate well the entire trip, but this brunch was FANTASTIC - I will remember the steak and rolls forever, and will endeavor to return to one of the locations the next time I have a chance!

We loaded back up the busses (which we had set up partially for sleeping) and some of us took naps and read and others talked quietly. Later we set back up for talking and had some fun conversations and some game playing. Before bed the entertainment committee regaled us with a song summarizing everything that had happened this week in 4 verses. Very funny. Our ride home was not as comfortable sleep-wise - LOTS of bumps and things falling off bunks or the top shelf.... including my friend Amber. We arrived home on Monday morning at 5am, tired, and glad to be home, but also sad to have left.

I think all of us are going to go through some adjustment - though it was a short trip, it was an intense one and the things we learned will be a long time in coming potentially. I'm looking forward to it though.

Pictures to come (I only have a few) here.

Prayers for you and your walk with Jesus. I hope that this encourages you to figure out your calling and if its in missions somehow, and if you have questions about Jesus, please let me know.

Love, Tiffani