Monthly Archives: April 2008

Mental Detox Review

Posted on by thezyps

Well, I did it, for seven whole days I did not go online once, did not chat with my sister, update my facebook, listen to Itunes, send or receive any emails, or look up a single recipe online. Not only that but I also did not watch a single movie or any television. I wondered when I started this mental detox if I would come out the other end with some incredible insights, but really I was just reminded of the things that I already knew. Here’s just a few of those little reminders….

The world, or my life rather, does still go on without computers…as do the lives of millions of others who have no access to or may have never even heard of a computer.

I say I’m busy, but in reality I’m not too busy to do the things that are important to me…and those things that I’m too “busy” for, well I simply haven’t chosen to make time for them. Sadly I saw that sometimes I make time for the frivolous things and am too “busy” for those things that should be considered essential, like reading the Word, praying, and spending time with those I love.

My daughter likes to be rocked to sleep and seems to sleep better/longer when I do rock her.

My husband likes peanut butter cookies…and I’ve only made them for him a handful of times in the four plus years we’ve been married.

Emailing is effecient but there is something so sweet and wonderful in hearing my sister giggle or my mom giving motherly advice on the phone.

I’m not bad at phone talking like I have always thought, just not practiced at it and usually too distracted to really focus on the conversation (hmmm strange how much easier it was to focus when I didn’t have my computer).

I LOVE music and REALLY missed my Itunes.

Seeds that say they take 7-14 days to germinate really grow a LOT faster when you plant them in a little greenhouse. 

Lunch tastes better when it’s being eaten outside, in the sunshine, sitting on the grass.

Cookbooks are cool.

I like reading the newspaper, it makes me feel knowledgeable about local and national events…and it reminds me of my Grandpa Krischke.

Draper (a nearby city) has an incredible library that makes me want to snuggle up in one of their cozy couches that over look the lovely meadow and just read for hours.

Little Women is a wonderful story that I will always love reading…no matter how many times I’ve read it.

No matter how many times I’ve read it, I will always cry when Beth dies.

I get better at the violin when I play it regularly (I told you these weren’t new brilliant ideas but reminders of things I already knew).

I miss my wonderful Timber Valley family.

I am a loop fanatic (ask Kris).

When I don’t have as many things cluttering up my daily routine it’s easier to be spontaneous and not feel guilty about it.

Being spontaneous is almost always fun.

Sometimes being a good friend means just listening while the other person vents. You can’t listen through an email nearly as well as you can on the phone and you can’t listen on the phone nearly as well as you can in person.

Jennika has a really cute giggle and making her laugh is totally worth the work!

I would trade my laptop, movies, and internet connection any day for wonderful friends, old and new.

So there you go! This last week was such a good reminder to me of the things that are important and the things that are nice and convenient to have but NOT essential…like this blog. I love that I can just click a couple keys and have hundreds of new recipes at my finger tips. I love that I can connect so quickly with those I love. But I think that sometimes and in someways the conveniences cheapen the treasure that is relationships and the limited resource of our valuable time. I’ve heard Kris say before that, to him, a demonstration of how valuable something is to somebody is how much of their time they are willing to put into it (be it a person, event, etc.) If this is true, and I do believe that it is, I’ve allowed some precious relationships to be neglected because they weren’t convenient. I’ve chosen to shoot off an email rather than make a phone call because it’s faster; just a few clicks and it’s done. But what have I missed by not actually interacting with that person? I’m not saying that all those things I gave up are bad, they are wonderful but they come at a cost. The question I’m left asking is when is the convenience not worth the cost? I don’t have any answers, maybe you do. I’d love to hear your thoughts on things. I’ll leave you with a couple relevant lines from Inherit the Wind, a classic play that Kris and I recently enjoyed:

“Gentleman, progress has never been a bargain. You’ve got to pay for it. Sometimes I think there’s a man behind a counter who says, ‘All right, you can have a telephone; but you’ll have to give up privacy, the charm of distance. Madam, you may vote; but at a price; you lose the right to retreat behind a powder-puff or a petticoat. Mister, you may conquer the air; but the birds will lose their wonder, and the clouds will smell of gasoline!’”

Inherit the Wind

Mental Detox Week

Posted on by thezyps

Well, this is goodbye…at least for the next six days.
Many of you have probably heard about TV Turn Off Week, which is this week, April 21-27. The plan is fairly simple, you don’t watch ANY television for a whole week. I planned to fully participate, which isn’t in the least bit difficult for Kris and I since we don’t own a television. I was even willing to give up my Netflix movies that I watch on my computer after Jennika is in bed, even though I’m right in the middle of a really good season of Gilmore Girls. In preparation, I decided to find a website with some more information about this week and I stumbled upon an incredible challenge.
Not only is there a TV turn-off week, there is a Mental Detox Week. The good people at Adbusters have uped the antie this year and encouraged all to turn off not only their tv, but also their laptop, dvd player, xbox, etc. and live a week “unplugged”. Well this made me uncomfortable because I LOVE my laptop and use it all the time. I check my email probably every hour, I chat online with my sister, I listen to music on Itunes, I look up recipes, I post photos, videos, and my thoughts here, I look up directions, phone numbers, and countless other bits of information. Could I really live without my computer for a whole week? So as I was rocking my exhausted my daughter to sleep tonight I thought about this challenge and what I would do for a whole week without this wonderful little gadgit. I could work on Jennika’s baby book, write in my journal to her, garden outside, READ, rock my baby, go for walks, tackle those last few boxes out in the garage that haven’t been unpacked yet….and I kept thinking of more and more things.
So I’m gonna do it! Tonight when I go to bed, I’m unplugging my laptop and putting it under the bed, out of sight and (hopefully) out of mind for the next six days. I’ll let you know how I do. In the meantime here are a couple photos and videos of Jennika. 
Oh and P.S. While there is a lot of good and thought provoking things at the adbusters website, browse with caution!

Spring is Here!

Posted on by thezyps

The National Weather Service’s forecast for the next ten days said today we could expect highs in the mid-forties with a slight chance of snow before noon. However by Monday they are forecasting sunny skies and a high of 81! What a change!
Here’s a preview of our spring days….

What Would I Do?

Posted on by thezyps

Our Easter service was incredible and though it’s already been a couple weeks ago I still want to write about it…
Our pastor, Travis is a very down-to-earth kind of guy who is easy to talk to and whose sermons are straight forward, challenging, and easy to understand. One of my favorite parts about his preaching is that he almost always leaves us with simple practical applications related to his message. Sometimes it is a challenge to do something, to act on what the Spirit is saying to us. Other times it is simply questions to ask ourselves internally and evaluate our heart responses.
On Easter Sunday Travis started out with a couple of hard hitting questions in his introduction. His overall message had to do with serving and being served. He opened with this question:

 If you knew that the big earthquake (apparently “the big one” is due to hit Salt Lake at any time) was going to happen tomorrow, what would you do? Would you pack your family up and leave town? Would you stay here and plan to help those in need, those who are hurt, confused, lost, and suffering?

I thought to myself, I would stay here. I would make sure we were safe and prepared for the big one, and then do whatever we can to help those around us in need. Okay, that was simple enough, but Pastor Travis didn’t stop there. No, he raised the stakes with his next question.

If a terrible disease, a plague, was spreading through the Salt Lake Valley and you knew the chances that you or your family would catch it and possibly die were great, what would you do? Would you stay and help those suffering and dying? Would you flee?

I looked down at my beautiful daughter, happily chewing on my fingers and felt a stab in my heart. What would I do? When my life involved just me, and even when it was just Kris and I, decisions like this weren’t so difficult. Sure, there were risks, but to be serving and meeting such a real need seemed worth it. We’d often traveled overseas, knowing that we were at risk of contracting diseased or parasites. We rock climbed, knowing the intrinsic risk in such a sport. We took it all in stride because we were adults who could weigh the costs and make decisions that were (hopefully) wise.
But now, now that another life depends on me, now that a part of me that lives outside of me may be exposed to suffering and even death, my easy answers faded from black and white to a confusing grey. Just the thought of my little daughter suffering from a terrible disease was almost more than I could bear.
The rest of Travis’s sermon was fantastic but I had a hard time listening because I kept coming back to that question. What would I do?
I found myself searching my mind for scriptures that would guide me. Bits and pieces of Matthew 10:37  and Matthew 19:29 would come to mind and I would choke down sobs of fear and dread. Would God really ask me to put my beloved daughter in danger? Does he want me to sacrifice her safety and wellbeing? Aren’t she and Kris my primary ministry? God gave his only son to suffer and die for my sins and the sins of this world. We praise him for making such a sacrifice, for being willing to see his beloved son suffer for others. Now, he, GOD, would he really want me, a mere mortal, to do the same thing? How can I possibly? How can I even imagine doing that which God has done?
Since Jennika was born I’ve struggled a great deal with the realization that I’m not in control and no matter what I do, no matter how good, devoted and pious I am I cannot guarantee the safety and happiness of those I love. I can’t make deals with God, though I desperately want to at times.
A dear friend of mine recently went through a harrowing ordeal with her precious four month old who contracted a dangerous virus in his heart. They almost lost him. He is recovering now and things look good for him, but in those twelve days of touch-and-go my heart broke for my friend. I cannot imagine the gamut of emotions she felt. She experienced one of my worst nightmares. Yet now as they are pulling out of that nightmare she is able to say that God is good and that she is convinced that he used that situation to “groom” them for something in the future. What an amazing perspective! Could I say that if I was in her shoes?
Another friend of mine recently told me about a class she is taking on the Psalms and that through it she is realizing that “we have domesticated a God who is as uncontrollable as a thunderstorm…” It’s true and I know I’m guilty. I know that I often want a safe god, a god who will give me what I want and not make me tremble. But then I don’t want that, because then he wouldn’t be the God of the universe. I wouldn’t stand in awe of him, I wouldn’t be amazed and I wouldn’t trust him with everything that is dear to me, because he wouldn’t be great and powerful.
So, in the dead of the night when I am lying awake in bed and suddenly struck with the fear that somebody or something will take Kris or Jennika away from me, all I can do is give them back to God, and pray that He keep them. I often feel so helpless and vulnerable. I feel like my heart is fully exposed and no longer safely inside me but now with those I love and I hope it is safe there, but there are no guarantees.
The funny thing is all of this has led me to a place that I think God wants me to be. I am vulnerable, I always have been, but now I know it. Every day that I wake up with Kris beside me and Jennika calling for me is a day that I should thank him for giving me such wonderful gifts. I haven’t earned them but he has blessed me with them. I am learning how to rest close to him, a big, scary, dangerous, loving, powerful, wonderful God who has wonderfully taken care of me and those I love.
So what would I do? I honestly don’t know. I don’t think there is one right answer for everybody or every situation. Sometimes I think God does ask us to put at risk that which we love the most, he did with Abraham. Other times I think he tells us to protect those same things. So my hope is that I will continue to stay close to him, nestled in his arms, scared but trusting, giving him all that I love and all my fears. I hope that my response to whatever he asks of me will be, “Yes, Lord.”