25 Things

We did these silly "25 Things" Questionnaires on facebook and I thought I would post them here too. Enjoy!

Elisha's 25 Things:

Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it."
-- Tallulah Bankhead

1. I hate drinking plain water. It's gross. Unless, of course, it's piping hot - then I'll drink hordes of it.

2. The grocery store makes me feel ill. I try to avoid it at all costs.

3. I have had my license suspended three times. :)

4. When I was a child, I wanted to be a road construction worker so I could play in the street.

5. I have never been a road construction worker.

6. I can do the same thing for days on end. I tend to become a little hyper-focused sometimes.

7. I subconsciously abhor routine. I can't seem to to do things the same way two days in a row.

8. When I read, I have to finish the book in one to two sittings. If I don't, I'll stop reading the book and probably won't come back to it.

9. I spend much of my day inventing imaginary worlds in my mind and dreaming about being in them. I think that's why I love fiction so much - because I love reading about other people's imaginary worlds.

10. I was born and raised in California. When we moved to Oregon, I refused to make really close friends for 3 years because I was determined to move back. I still miss the sun.

11. I have always wanted to live in another country. I still do.

12. I like mud. I used to play any sport that allowed me to get ridiculously muddy because I thought it was so cool to be muddy. I still have issues restraining myself from jumping in mud puddles.

13. Quotes make me happy. Just stick one to two sentences in those little quotation marks and I'll happily read them. - "A book of quotations... can never be complete."
-- Robert M. Hamilton

14. I rarely ever shower. I always take baths. I love the feeling of sinking into a warm tub of water and slowly letting the world outside disappear. I started loving baths when I lived at home and shared a room and a bathroom with my sister. The only time I could be completely left alone to think and ponder life was when I was taking a bath.

15. I love my scars. I feel like they're the story of my life and adventures. My mom always told me that I would regret all the scars that I've achieved over the years, and at the ripe old age of 24, I still have a fond regard for all of them. And I'm excited about all the future scars I'll add to my accomplishments.

16. I've never been afraid of anything, but failing. And of that, I'm terrified.

17. I like surprises, but really I only like trying to figure them out. I don't actually like to be surprised.

18. I used to sleep with a life-sized raggedy Ann doll until I was in high school. I literally loved that doll to pieces.

19. I think that "Tag" should become an olympic sport. I seriously love that game.

20. I love music. I love dancing to music. I love watching other people dance to music. I love how music "expresses that which can not be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."

21. I'm writing a book. It's a secret. You can't read it. Yet.

22. I want to get my PhD, but I don't know what I want to study. Is it possible to just be a perpetual student in a subject like philosophy, political science, or art, and get paid to do it?

23. I'm allergic to perfume. It's horrible.

24. I love the cello. It moves my soul. I want to learn how to play it exceptionally well.

25. My mom is probably my best friend besides my hubby. I can't even begin to explain how much she means to me!


Andy's 25 Things:

1.) I have a strange yearning to go to culinary school. I think it would be awesome to be one of those people who makes delicious, amazing food that nobody would really think of. I would also like to know what each of the spices taste like, what they go best with, and how to use them properly.

2.) I can't do the same thing (and immensely enjoy it) for many hours in a row. For example, if I'm playing video games/watching tv/reading a book, I have to take a break every few hours and do something else. Snowboarding is an exception.

3.) I have never been to the hospital for myself (except when being born.)

4.) When I was a kid, I didn't tell my parents that I wanted to be a firefighter/policeman/astr

onaut/etc. No, I wanted to be the guy that pumped gas. Shootin' high huh?

5.) When I was in high-school, I achieved my childhood dream and worked for 3 months at a Texaco station, pumping gas. Yeah, it wasn't as glamorous as I thought.

6.) I hate bees/stinging insects. I once broke a window killing a wasp.

7.) I have difficulty sleeping in - I have never slept past about 8:30AM without getting up and then going back to bed. Even if I went to bed at 4AM.

8.) My body has a built-in alarm clock - if I've been getting up at a particular time for say, 2 weeks, I'll usually wake up about 5-10 minutes before my alarm goes off.

9.) I once shot our sheep with a BB-gun. I don't think they felt it.

10.) Speaking of sheep, I am constantly embarrassed by the human condition. Have sheep really makes you think about why God constantly compares us to them - and man, they are dumb! So are we. With all the knowledge, communication capabilities and abilities we have, we should be able to achieve much more than we have. Yet some pinnacles of our society include places like Las Vegas, where one goes to actually play a game they know is designed to take their money. We're really smart.

11.) If I could do high-school over again, I think I would - as long as I knew what I know now. (Middle school, heck no.) I'd worry less about what everyone thought and focus more on just being me. I also would have learned to dance sooner so I wouldn't feel like such a tard at dances.

12.) I am a self-driven person who can be extremely cynical of people who can't quit whining and actually go and try to solve their problems. Yes, I realize that your situation may be more difficult than other people's. So what. Lots of people have problems, lots of people have solved them. Complaining and waiting for someone else to fix them for you doesn't work. /end rant

13.) This is getting more philosophical, and maybe less interesting. But coming up with 25 things is tough. I'll work harder now.

14.) I love Costco. I spend way to much almost every time I walk in the door, but it's so cheap!

15.) If something is a really really good deal, I have a hard time not buying it even if I don't really have the money. It's a good deal! I want it! This may not come again! Arrgh.

16.) I used to vehemently abhor Macintosh computers. That was before I needed my computer to run without problems, and without downtime. (It was easy when my computer was just for playing games!) Now I am an ardent Mac supporter and will never buy a Windows machine again. (Here's to 7 months without a computer crash since I got our iMac!)

17.) I used to think I wanted to be a chemist. I even started studying it in College before it was bludgeoned out of me by Chem-222 labs that consisted entirely of titrations (watching one liquid drop into another, waiting for one to turn pink.) I was extremely bored, and said forget that!

18.) I think my joy in chemistry has been brought back by bartending/making drinks. I love to do it. I think if I didn't need my job, and didn't need to build my resume, I'd totally quit and become a bartender.

19.) My nerdiness has somehow diminished. I used to love reading star-wars books and stuff like that. Not so much anymore.

20.) I love riding my motorcycle. It actually makes me wish I was significantly shorter, so I could be better at it.

21.) I am a self-proclaimed foodie - I love trying different restaurants and exploring the world of food. I just wish it was cheaper. Luckily Portland is a good town for lots of small, independent restaurants.

22.) I love bacon!!!

23.) I like my steak medium-rare. Anything else is a sin.

24.) I hate small dogs. They are ugly, yippy and annoying. I will never own one.

25.) My puppy is awesome, and definitely a heartbreaker. I can't tell you how many people have wished that they could have him. But they can't.

The future

These days we've been making a lot of decisions, revising those decisions, scrapping them, and starting over. After deciding to happily shelve the photography business, we've had to ask ourselves - "what now?" After hours of talking, thinking, and wondering, we've gone around in several circles and decided and undecided on different outcomes for our future. Here's what we've been circling around.

1. Elisha gets a "real job" and we buy a house.
2. Elisha and Andy go travel the world.
3. Elisha and Andy start a new business that makes money.

Option 1 sounded too grown up and boring, but financially responsible. So we seriously considered that option for a while. Option 2 sounded fun and irresponsible. So we seriously considered that option for a while. Then we went back to option 1 because it was more responsible. Then we scrapped Option 1 and 2, and thought about a way to make money so that we could do both Option 1 and Option 2. New business ideas arose and we came up with a brilliant one (which we'll keep quiet for now). We then decided to do Option 3 which would open doors for Option 1 and 2 in the future.

And then, option 4 presented itself rather suddenly and unexpectedly. However, option 4 needs a little background before I reveal it to you lovely blog readers.

First, as my last post might have indicated, I've really been feeling a little "bleh" lately about everything, including God. Andy and I have talked a lot about it, and he has been feeling similarly. We've been praying and reading our bibles desperately trying to "fix" whatever is going on. And we're still stuck in this rut.

Then Andy talked with a friend who asked him what he would do if there were no restrictions on him - what he thinks woud bring fulfillment in his life and bring him joy. The first thing Andy thought of was doing was missions overseas - anywhere. When my husband, whose face was glowing when he came home, asked me what would bring me the most joy in my life and would bring me fulfillment, my answer was predictable - missions overseas.

When I said it, a little spark of joy began to bloom in my heart. I felt, for the first time in the last year or so, hope. I understood the verse when Christ said, "I will give you a hope and a future," for the first time in my life. Going from feeling spiritually "blah" to having a hope and a future ahead of me - a future that God gave to me rather than I gave to myself - made me feel alive. At first, I resisted, like I usually do with God. I made arguments like Moses did when God called him - I'm not spiritually ready. I don't have anything to offer. I don't know where we'd go and how we'd do it. I put my excuses on the table and I realized that "where God guides, He provides." I realized that I may not be ready for what God can and will do in my life, but that I'll never be ready if I stay where I am and I don't submit my life to Him entirely. Perhaps in surrending my inability to God, He'll make me more able than my own preparation could ever make me.

I think I've been wandering for the last year or two looking for my place in the world, ignoring the calling that God has put on my life. I knew when I was 11 years old that God had called me to missions. I've always felt most alive and filled with purpose when I've done missions. I have always known where I wanted to be in my life but the last year or two, I had given it up because I thought that God wouldn't want to use me - couldn't use me. And yet it seems, that maybe He does have a purpose for my life beyond simply existing. That His grace is sufficient for me, for His power is made perfect in my weakness.

So here's a toast to God's future for us - for something beyond what I could imagine. I asked God to shake my world and it looks like He's answering. I just thought it would be shaken a little differently. But then, how can we really predict how God will shake us up?