In the Key of G

 I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I love holidays as much as anybody. Time off of work, an excuse to sleep in, amazing food, and frisbee football with family and friends. What's not to love. The part that I get cynical about is how fake and insincere the idea of Thanksgiving is becoming in America. You see it everywhere, people claiming extreme gratefulness for one day, and within a few hours, moving on with normal life. Or even worse -indulging in the insanity and greed that goes on during Black Friday. I just read an article about all the injuries, riots, and fights related to Black Friday shopping. It definitely was not one of my "proud to be an American" moments.  But probably the reason I felt cynical about this Thanksgiving was largely due to my own level of sincerity. I may  not have ran around snatching up "good deals" at 3 am in the morning, but at the same time I found i...

"Life is at its most intriguing and mysterious when it's in flux." Couldn't have said it better myself. My days should be filled with intrigue and mystery, for I am truly in flux. I can't say that I find it exactly intriguing to get pulled over for making a illegal u-turn because I was lost and running out of gas in my unfamiliar new territory... and neither did I find the mystery of trying to change my last name all that fun. But for the most part - Yes. Change is a very mysterious thing and often intriguing at times. I would have liked to think that I have change nailed down to an art by now. That I had prepared for this in every way possible. That it is fairly predictable process to go through. But I'm as vulnerable to change as everyone else. It happens, and no matter how prepared you are, its nothing like you imagined. I'd like to dedicate this post to the two biggest, newest, and most mysterious changes in my life - becoming a Yoder and movi...

          "Please try to look cute and happy", she said. "We need to take pictures to remember how much fun this was."         "Then take the picture." he said. "It'll be more accurate this way. Me working hard, you not so much." ...but, because he loves her.... he obliged.  This is us. Cuz we loooooove wedding planning.  but we're even more excited about not  doing wedding planning in the very near future. 

I like defining things. Not long after me and Vince started dating, I thought about the word “love” a lot and what it really meant. We had more or less agreed that saying “I love you” to each other was out of the picture until our relationship had grown into something far more committed. For me, it felt crucially important to put some kind of value or meaning back into the word "love". So my definition was: “ To love someone means you are devoted to them by choice, spurred on by tenderness, affection, and passion.”  It helped me put perspective on what truly loving Vince would look like. Well, I now am devoted to Vince by choice, and it was definitely spurred on by tenderness, affection, and passion. :) So that naturally brings us to a new word - marriage. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always heard it defined like this: “Marriage is an institute created by God…” and so on and so forth. Although this is absolutely true, that doesn’t really cut it for me. For some r...

Hi. My name is Gloria and I suffer from a distorted view of God. What’s your problem? Ever since I read “Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer in 2008, my distorted view of God was blown-up and completely re-arranged. It was the beginning of a new phase of my life. Then when I read “Abba’s Child” by B. Manning this past year, the truth I found in there once again shook its fist in the face of my collection of distortions about God. These books are not without fault, of course, but both have been huge in shaping my God-view, time and time again. Love them both. (Put them on your "must read" list if you haven’t already.)  This morning I was feeling crummy in my spirit. I knew without a doubt that those distortions were once again playing havoc in my life. I knew I had sinned and failed God in some areas, but shame and self-hatred were immobilizing me from taking action. It was kind of like I wanted to hang on to my junk just because it felt safer than facing the realit...

This was year number three, and my passion for Passion hasn't subsided. I love how fitting the name of this event is. Our passion (aka - mission statement) is to challenge and encourage young people through a spiritually, mentally, and physically tough environment to live life out of a heart over-flowing with passion for God. Being a part of the committee has been life changing for me because it has a way of keeping me emerged in that passionate calling all year long. I have not had a lot of time to reflect after the event this year, as the wedding bells continue to dong quite loudly and persistently in my ears. However, as I catch a few moments here and there to think about it, I must conclude that this year rocked. I'm not completely sure how all the campers felt about it, but for me personally - its a big giant yes. I never saw myself as the administrator type. In fact, I still don't. I can be a typical last born in that I lack confidence in lea...

I was recently at the beach with friends on a mini-vacation. The day we arrived was a bit cloudy and threatening to rain, so we were ducking into shops here and there. Out of the blue, one of the shop owners commented to my friend, “If you’re in a barn full of manure, there is always a pony. Find it.” Apparently that was his version of “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade” or “see the glass as half full rather than half empty”. The shop owner was making a point, of course, that if rain was threatening our vacation, we needed to find happiness in his shop. I passed it off as just another one of those irritating optimistic taglines. But it stuck with me. In my mind, I’m a very down-to-earth, realistic person. You know, "balanced". I guess we all like to think of ourselves as that.  However, when I started dating Vince, he was quick to point out that I fall on the pessimistic side of the spectrum. I still want to deny it, but I know it's got some truth to it. A few y...

I doubt that anything is more revealing about my current life then my internet browsing history. Sometimes I go check it out just to appall myself with how much time I’ve wasted on Facebook in the last 24 hours or to figure out how I ended up spending 2 hours online instead of 10 mins. One thing that is obvious in my browser history is that my google searches have taken a shift recently. I find myself googling things like “how to write your own vows”, “is black too morbid for a wedding?”, and “ten ways to help your bridesmaids not hate you”.  It's a whole new world. I’ve been a bride-to-be for 11 weeks now. Some of those weeks I have enjoyed it and some of those weeks I have not. To be honest, some of those weeks have been pretty miserable and tearful. I’ve had an attitude about this bride business from the beginning. I guess it started a long time ago when I was repulsed by the fuss, extravagance, and anxiety that is involved in planning weddings and reacted to it by vowing ...

There is this lady at church who I secretly admire. She is one of those women who just seems to be everything a woman should be – elegant, graceful, supportive, and nurturing. She gives off these vibes of strength and stability. I watch her as she interacts with her husband, her kids, and other people in the church and I think to myself – “There it is. That’s what I want. I want to get to that place.” There is this group of people I know who have these amazing theological discussions. Their intelligence about the Bible and the church is impressive. They have positions on every single spiritual topic, and enjoy debating and discussing. They amaze me with their understanding of such things and their ability to expound on them. And so I think to myself – “There it is. That’s what I want. I want to get to that place.” There is this wonderful woman I know who has dedicated her life to serving God and others in a way that leaves  her fighting for personal time. She is always ful...

You know those annoying get-to-know-you questions that pop up from time to time?? Well, the one that annoys me most is "What are your hobbies?" It irritates me because I don't have any. I don't knit, I don't garden, I don't scrap-book, I don't paint, I don't ride horse, I don't play instruments, I don't bird-watch, I definitely don't sing, I don't juggle, I don't do photography, I don't rock climb, I don't sew, and I don't make crafty things off of Pinterest.  This is a problem because it always makes me feel like a really boring person during that crucial get-to-know-you time. Sounds like a pride problem, right? Well, anyway... I still don't think that "writing" qualifies as a hobby, but that's usually what I end up saying in that awkward moment. "Hi, my name is Gloria, and I like to uh, write."  So anyway, hobby or not, I do feel pretty passionate about writing and I have been asking mys...