Mickey Mouse Compulsion

I’ve got a problem and, I know, I need help.
Does anyone know where I can attend a Disney World Anonymous class?
It all started about a month ago… but first, a little history will help with the explanation.
My husband, CJ, grew up in South Florida. He started going to Disney World in Orlando as a small child and would go frequently due to his proximity to the location. I’ve heard him talk about Prom Night at Disney World, Senior Night at Disney World and many more special events that nearby residents could attend. He’s probably been 100 times to the various amusement parks and cherishes each memory.
So naturally, after we were married and had children of our own, it was instinctive that we would make regular trips down to Disney for our family vacation.
I think the first time we went after we had kids was in 2005. Our oldest daughter, Zoë, was five years old, and Miá was two at the time. They were really too young that year to do much except enjoy some of the shows and kiddy rides, but it was a great family experience. My parents joined us on that trip, as well as CJ’s mother and brother, and we all stayed in a condo together for the week we were there.
Just as when I was a child growing up and my family would go to Disney World, my mother always had matching t-shirts made for everyone in attendance. Again, in 2005, she did just that for all eight of us. She had gray tank tops with “Family Vacation 2005” airbrushed in pink lettering on them that we all wore while there. (I can’t tell you how many jokes we had over CJ wearing his tank top,which he is definitely not accustomed to wearing. His shirt now hangs in the youth room at First Baptist Church as a perpetual memory of the ridicule he endured.)
In 2007, we planned another trip to Disney for the family. My parents decided to sit this trip out. My dad’s back was still hurting from the 2005 trip when he carried Miá all over the parks because she refused to allow him to put her down. He said (sarcastically) that it was “more fun than one should get to experience” in just two years. CJ’s mom and brother still came for a couple days, and we discovered that year that we could rent a stroller! It made life so much easier!
Also that year prior to going, CJ found a book called the “Unofficial Guide to Disney World” which has all kinds of insider information to help make a Disney World vacation less stressful and more relaxed. We learned the value of staying at a resort inside the property grounds of Disney World including getting picked up at the airport and extra hours before and after the parks’ opening and closing times that only resort customers could attend.
This book also had touring plan strategies that would tell you exactly in what order to see the various attractions to eliminate the most time waiting in line. This was, hands’ down, the best part. We never waited in line more than five minutes for any ride or show, and we were able to visit every “Kingdom” (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios/MGM) multiple times in only five days. This is what got me really hooked! We had so much fun that year, but most of all I learned that a little preparation and planning in advance meant a much more pleasant and hassle-free trip.
The internet makes available a wealth of information and resources, so a couple months ago when we officially decided to start planning our trip to Disney World this year, I began my research.
It started with a little competition between CJ and I to see who could find the cheapest airfare tickets. Then it grew to finding the best resort rates. Also, in the past, if you wanted to plan a special meal for your child to share with some of the Disney characters such as Mickey or Cinderella, you had to call about six months in advance and endure a horror of a phone answering system. I would call again and again and wait and wait to try to get a reservation, and, of course, we never planned that far in advance so we were never able to arrange this experience for our children in the past. But now you can make these character dining reservations online! I was able to secure reserved seats at a restaurant in Epcot at the Norway pavilion where all the Disney princesses will attend. Not to mention that my dad has been to Norway and loved the country and the food so he is now also excited to participate in this fun!
The problem is that I’ve been so excited with my successful preparations that I can’t stop. Now I’ve started making reservations for other regular meals during the time we’ll be there. I even usurped my mom’s territory and ordered t-shirts with a picture of Mickey and each person’s name on them for our trip. I’ve also found on ebay.com cheap children’s sunglasses and hats with Disney insignia for our girls to wear (which will save me a lot of money rather than purchasing at Disney World where it will cost almost five times more.) I’ve read all kinds of online reviews of shows and activities. I’ve poured over books and material that tell tips and hints for a fun, family vacation. Then over the weekend, I have to confess, I even developed a color-coded spreadsheet of our schedule for each day we’ll be at Disney World in September.
When I proudly showed the results of my efforts to my co-workers yesterday, they told me it was time for an intervention.
Our family trip to Disney World is now a little less than two months away, and I’ve already got us prepared and packed and ready to go. This is so unlike me and my typical, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants behavior, but I just can’t help myself.
Where’s the fairy godmother when you really need her?

Don't get "Wrapped Up"

Shoes, purses, watches... the accessories are my thing. Anything colorful or sparkly, it catches my eye.
But let me distinguish, I like those things. I don't LOVE those things.
I'm always excited for a good bargain, cause I just can't see wasting a bunch of money on something that won't last. And just cause it's expensive doesn't mean it will last. But in the end, all these trinkets are wrapping paper. Just cause a box is flashy on the outside, doesn't mean there's anything of value on the inside.
It also works the other way around. Have you ever heard the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover?"
The same principle could be applied to church.
If a visitor came to a church service for the first time dressed in fashionable clothes, perfectly coiffed and easily blended in with the rest of crowd, they would likely be greeted and welcomed.
But what if someone came to your church dressed in second-hand clothes? What if they wore jeans to church on Sunday morning?!?! What if their shoes had holes in the sole? Would they be made to feel welcome? I think probably so.
But now the hard questions.... what if they were really different? What if they had tattoos or wore black leather to church? What if they had a mohawk or multi-colored hair? What if they had piercings in their nose or tongue? Would these people be accepted at your church?
You know, Jesus loved the misfits. He was always surrounded by a large crowd of folks who were troubled, diseased, afflicted, sad, poor, unloved, broken and weary. Did he send them away because they were different? NO! He said instead, "Come unto me."
As Christians, aren't we called to be "Little Christs" spreading His love and His message in this world? Maybe we could be really bold and even invite some misfits to church!
Just remember, compared to God's perfection, we're ALL a bunch of misfits. Don't be fooled by the wrapping on the box.

Windows to the world

Windows, like doors, separate what's inside from what's outside. The outside is alive... trees, flowers, space. Yet windows allow people to stay within the confines of their shelter and protection while providing a view to the adventure outdoors. It's like being outdoors, without actually being outdoors.
I remember when I was in college. My roommate, Christie, and I lived on the third floor of Vail Hall at Samford. We had a window in our room that overlooked the parking circle at the sidedoor of the residence hall (the one most often used for entrance into the building). Sometimes when we were feeling silly, us two and a few others from our hall would pop popcorn late on Saturday nights, turn off the lights and watch girls being dropped off by their dates - they never knew they were being spied on. We kept count of how many times the boys would make attempts to kiss their girls goodnight, only to be dismissed with a hug or a quick exit.
The window in our room allowed us to venture into the private lives of both friends and complete strangers.
Often, now, when I go running at night, I'll jog by a home that's all lit up on the inside. Through their windows I might see a family eating dinner around the table; sometimes I see people watching tv. Whatever they're doing, they're living their lives inside their home, separated from the outside world and safe within the walls of protection.
Windows symbolize access: outside - in and inside - out.
The same is true in life. We all have walls, yet we also have windows.
We often build walls to protect ourselves from being hurt or being judged. We find protection in our privacy, yet we long for life on the outside. So we put in windows, or little glimpses that allow other people to see who we really are and allow us to feel the sun of happiness shining down.
On days like today, I'm reminded of the power of open windows.
When I lived in Vail Hall back in 1991, there was no air conditioning, and Alabama heat in late August was sweltering. So we would open our window to hopefully draw in the wind, or some form of cool relief.
Through one open window we would sometimes feel a small draft of breeze, but we learned quickly that if we also opened our door on the other side of the room, a powerful thing happened. The air in our room would circulate as if we had a ceiling fan forcing the air.
It's funny, we opened the door to bring the air in, but we found an open door also allowed opportunities for people to come in our room and visit. Through our open door, we made connections with our neighbors.
This morning when I awoke, I opened the sliding glass door off my bedroom to let the cool air in, but it wasn't until this afternoon when I opened my window on the other side of the room and a powerful force of air swept in that I was reminded of those college days.
I was reminded of the power of an open door and an open window.
I encourage you today to open the doors to your heart and the windows to your soul. Like the cleansing of the morning dew or the sweet fragrance of the honeysuckle blooming in the afternoon, you just never know what life-changing force may come blowing in.

Have you ever felt lost?

Today as CJ and I were driving on in an interstate, we passed a flashing red sign that said "Detour Ahead."
Never without my trusty cell phone and its included GPS navigational device, I felt no fear or hesitation knowing that my "Hero" would provide me perfect directions to reach my destination despite the detour interference.
I turned on Google maps and clicked on "my location" so that it would calculate where I was and give me point by point turns for where I needed to go. The only problem - it said I was in Texas... when actuality, I was in Tennessee.
"Uh oh," I said.
"What's wrong? CJ responded.
"Uh.... we might be lost." I pronounced the bad news.

Have you ever felt "lost?" Without direction, without purpose or without hope... You know, in life, we think we can depend on our own "devices" to determine our direction. The problem is, those "devices" are not perfect. We travel down life's highway looking for flashing signs to tell us where to go, but they just detour us from reaching where we really want to be.
It is a comfort to know that there is a trusty Hero that wants to show us the way if we'll just open our eyes and our hearts to hear Him. That Hero is the author of our lives and He gives us, not just purpose, but passion!
Remember, our mission is not just found in our destination, it's also in the journey there.

A new decade on the horizon

Early in the morning on the day after Christmas, I sat out on the back deck of the cabin, our “home for the holidays” in the mountains of Gatlinburg. It was so cold I could see my breath in front of me, mingling with the steam rising up from the full mug of coffee that I held in my gloved hands.
I was curled up in a wooden rocking chair beneath a cozy, wool blanket, still in my pajamas with the addition of a sweatshirt, thick socks and fleece hat pulled down low to cover my ears.
I had woken to a view from my third story window of what looked to be the beginnings of a magnificent sunrise coming up over the rolling mountains in the distance. The view and serenity it created beckoned me outside despite the frosty temperature.
While the rest of my family lay sleeping soundly, snug in their beds, I sat cocooned in the warmth of color bursting into the morning sky and cascading back down over the miniscule chalets that were nestled into the side of the mountain with circles of smoke rising up from their chimneys.
I wondered if there was anyone else in the world at that moment enjoying the spectacular display of glowing orange, cool purples and fiery reds God was painting in the sky before my very eyes.
It was a momentary flash of beauty, fading away almost as quickly as it had come as the sun moved higher and the sky developed into a clear blue.
As the scene before me transpired, I couldn’t help but think of the symbolism it held to the passing decade that looms on the horizon.
It seems like it was just yesterday when the world was facing the Y2K scare as a new century was set to unfold. Fears of the future caused anxiety among our nation, not knowing that panic would ultimately be unfounded.
There would be more disturbing distresses occurring in the first decade of the twenty-first century.
Who would have ever imagined that September 11th was just around the corner? The attack on the World Trade Centers in New York would not only rock our world, it changed the way we all live and think and act. The incident, as tragic as it was, reminded us that life is precious and each day is a special gift. Normal and usual kind of folks became heroes for their acts of bravery and fortitude, and our eyes became opened to the way our world is changing.
Mother Nature took center stage this past decade for some devastating acts including a tsunami that killed nearly 300,000 people throughout Indonesia and the Pacific Rim.
Locally, Katrina surpassed the memories of Camille as a new generation was exposed to the impact of hurricanes and the ravages she left behind in our city and state. As a community, we learned that what did not break us would make us stronger as we sought to find positives in the aftermath. We discovered unity and cooperation among neighbors, and we were the recipients of love and good will from people all over the globe. Though we were humbled, we discovered our resiliency and became fervent for a better future.
The past ten years could also be described by the extreme advances in technology. We have become a people both isolated and connected by our computers, cell phones, cameras and televisions. We are isolated physically, yet connected with electronic tools in such a way that is changing the principles of privacy and moral behavior. We’ve lost the importance of face to face contact and our ability to communicate has been reduced to a series of abbreviations and shortened words that take less time to spell while we text and instant message about the personal details of our lives. Facebook and Google have become not only wildly successful internet businesses, they have become part of our everyday English language. Have you Googled yourself lately? You should!
Overall, in the last decade our lives have changed drastically, some for the better, some for the not-so-much-better. But the point is, we are continuing to evolve.
People change, nations change, our environment will change and the one constant in all of it is time. Time just keeps on rolling along.
Just like that beautiful sunrise that inspired me and brought me great satisfaction and peace, if I would’ve blinked almost, I could’ve missed it.
As I lay in my bed and first opened my eyes to the pre-show of God’s glory, I could have just rolled over and gone back to sleep. But I would’ve missed it.
I could have watched the sunrise from the comfort of inside, but it was the struggle and effort to get wrapped up, protected from the elements and situated outside that truly made it the experience that it was.
As we approach a new decade, I encourage you, don’t miss out on a single second. Go through the struggles and efforts to pursue your dreams. Be a part of God’s glory and blessings. Make the most of the fading and fleeting beauty of life. We never know what’s just around the corner, and before we know it, another decade will be here and gone.
It is my wish, that your new year and each and every day is filled with beauty, adventure, peace and promise. God bless you and happy new year!

Gobble, gobble, gobble

As I'm sitting here, grossly full from a huge Thanksgiving dinner reading all the comments by my Facebook friends talking about how they've over-eaten today as well, I can't help but wonder... what is the purpose of the overly excessive meal that has become a tradition for American families on this one day?
Yes I know the holiday is in remembrance of the first meal by the Pilgrims in their new land shared with the Indians, but what we do on this holiday is nothing like what they did on that day.
They may have sat at a dinner table with their friends and family, but they didn't have turkey, they didn't gorge themselves on sugar-filled and sugar-topped pies and sweets and they surely would not have had so much food that they were able to eat left-overs continually for the next week.
We had so much food tonight at my family's Thanksgiving meal that I could not even fit a spoonful of everything on my plate in one go around.
I always find it funny that after having filled our bellies with so much food that we're almost unable to move, we always instigate some type of entertainment provided by the children. We sit on the soft sofas, barely awake from too much turkey while the girls sing and dance and cheer, hoping that some of their activity might rub off on our depleted metabolisms.
I always regretfully end up sinking into my chair with the regretful thought, "Why did I just do that to myself?"
Why do we do that? If we really want to celebrate the intentions of our fore-fathers it seems it may be more appropriate for us to go plow a field or build a barn.
I'm just so thankful that at least one real tradition has survived from our ancestors. Check any history book and you'll find that after the Pilgrims and Indians shared a meal, the men cleared the table and washed the dishes while the women went to Walmart to go Christmas shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Phone call to God

Day one on Saturday, coming home to an empty house was kinda nice. My children and CJ are out of town, so it was refreshing on Saturday to be able to sleep and try to recuperate from my jet lag.
Sunday morning rolled around a little bittersweet. In my still sorta asleep and not quite yet woken up phase, I kept waiting for my girls to come bouncing into my bed begging for breakfast before getting ready and going to church together. The patter of their feet never came.
I kept myself busy on Sunday afternoon catching up on email and other tedious chores that required my attention and kept me from drifting into an emotional state.
Now it's Monday and I'm starting to wonder if Thursday will ever get here?
I had to literally force myself not to cry when my girls called today from Knoxville where they're staying with CJ's mom.
"I miss you Mommy!" Miá said sweetly.
Ugh...
That lump in my throat was a good thing that kept me from being able to wail.
Then I started to wonder if that's how God feels when His children go away from Him. Do you think God gets emotional over those whom He loves so much, yet they never call him or talk to him in prayer? I bet He misses us when we wander far away from Him, and He desperately wants us to stay close to Him.
I know it says in the Bible that Jesus wept. He knows the pain of sadness and lonliness and heart break. He knows how parents feel when their children are a long distance away. After all, He is the father of all fathers.
Have you called your Father lately? I bet He'd love to hear your voice.