WhooHoo!

I don't typically don't use this blog for writing about my personal life, at least not in a narrative sort of way, but I'm going to break my own habit, as well as the proper rules of English (note this is very much a run-on), and say WE"RE HAVING A BABY!!!! Yep it's true. You've probably already read about it on facebook, but I had to shout it out here as well. God is so good, and we're so excited! I will be ten weeks along, on Friday, and our due date is August 13th. We're planning on finding out the gender, and looking forward to all the different stages along the way. So, now I've shared our fantastic news, and my next post will be back in the normal style of things for me.

tick tock tick tock tick

Relentless. That's what time is. Ever pressing forward; never going back. Showing no mercy or reprieve. Even when it seems life has stopped, time suspended, we look out the window and realize the rest of the world goes on. There's no collective pause in deference to our own sleep-like state. Time is nothing if not persistent. Yet, to us, it may seem like chaos is all that exists. Our own internal clock may halt from fear, pain, or shock. We will even be angry that the world continues to progress. Yet the hands of the clock tick on, reminding us some things don't change. Nothing will bring the world into our control. And at some point, as time moves on, we return to the world of the waking. Slowly the fog inside our head clears, and we find comfort in the fact that time did go on. No matter what our lives consist of, we can't stop time. Time, the very thing that in the end, allowed us to heal.

Relatively speaking...

Relationship. The center of all. The relationship between any two people, things, places, is how we find our own relative place.* It's how we form opinions. How we find purpose. Relationships are the filter through which the world trickles into understanding. A lack of relationship can bring chaos and confusion. Here are a few examples to start the thought process.

Our relationship with Christ directs how we live, how we view the world. Our actions are changed through the closeness of this relationship. It also gives us meaning, and affects our relationship with others.

Our relationship with family forms a framework on which other relationships are built. This can be an advantage or a crippling disability, causing consequent relationships to be relatively healthy or chronicly afflicted.

Time is relative--sometimes speeding, othertimes lazily loitering.

Relationship is the medium for comparison. It is the basis for conflict, motivation, pride, denial, self-esteem, age, bias, and change. It determines what we view as large or small, important or trivial, having depth or power. Relationships are the most influential force in our lives. Cultivate relationships with results in mind. Be a conductor of hope, joy, peace, healing, prudence, favor, and passion. A bringer of blessing, empathy, fidelity, patience, selflessness, and purpose. Be aware and be what you want to see in the world.

*Note: The absence of relationship is still relationship, just in negative form (not negative as bad, but think math...I hate math).