Mindy and her Technicolor Dreamcoat

Alright kids... this is going to be a long one. Sorry. I thought I had blogged about some of this before, but apparently not. So I have to give you a bit of back story.  So grab a cup of coffee, or pull this blog post up while some boring TV show is on or while you're waiting in the doctors office... and enjoy!

I want to preface all this by saying.. I don't get it either. However, I've decided it's not for me to question God's ways.  And I should just revel in it!  So hopefully you will adopt that attitude and roll with me!

November 2011

I think most of you know I went to Houston in November to visit Tom. Most of my visit was centered around getting to experience a new church he had started attending and getting to see the Lord do some pretty amazing things. It was awesome! I saw the Lord work in ways that I had never seen before and had the opportunity for some great pillars of faith to speak some truth into my life. I left there very uplifted. One of the statements that was made was that someone was going to continue to pray for God to "dazzle" me. And boy oh boy has that come to fruition in so many ways!  My first example of being dazzled goes like this:

     Before leaving for Houston, I had taken to writing scripture up on my bathroom mirror so that I could meditate on them and work on memorizing them. A day or two before leaving, I had written a few new ones up there. Well, in praying with someone in Houston, she prayed one of these verses into her prayer over me. I hadn't told her about it... it was just worked into her prayer. I did stop her and tell her that was one of the verses I had on my mirror- and she said the Lord had given her that verse for me. OK.   That was pretty dazzling in and of itself. (Prov 13:12- Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life.)   But what was even more dazzling was when I got home and was unpacking, I went to unpack some things in my bathroom. What I saw was pretty creepy- the other three verses looked as if someone had smeared them with their hands while Prov 13:12 was still in tack, in my handwriting. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life.  I took a picture of it. :) Kind of hard to see the detail.. but the one in the upper right corner is the Prov 13:12 one.

 So.. after I got over the initial creepiness of this :).. I decided THIS was God's way of dazzling me.  Yeah.. it was cool to have the girl quote the scripture in a prayer.. but it was DAZZLING to have a physical manifestation like this. I don't know how it happened. No one was in my bathroom while I was gone.  So I just decided to give it over to God- and give him some props for getting right on that prayer request.  And thus the bedazzling began.

2x4 Method

So, I've often said that God uses the 2x4 method to get my attention. He hits me between the eyes with a 2x4 until I get it. :) After this trip to Houston, I felt like God was not only using a 2x4 to get my attention, but at some times he was throwing the whole logging truck at me!  So what do I mean by this? There would be repeated themes that showed up in my prayers, sermons, bible studies, etc. All at the same time- in the same week... and often even in the same day. That's the 2x4. Keeps hitting me between they eyes until I can't not get it!  So between November and now... God's been doing a lot of that to dazzle me. He's also shown me some people in my life who are more concerned about living by the Spirit than the newest Justin Timberlake movie. OH wait.. scratch that. They are the same people. :) LOL. All joking aside... I've found that there are others that have dazzling stories of the Spirit working in them or through them, and its all AMAZING!!  And we just don't share these stories enough. We think they are odd, weird, or just simply unbelievable.  BUT.. because I've found value in hearing others stories, I thought I'd share my stories as of recent.

I don't know what to call them either

So one thing I keep praying is that God and the Spirit would just reveal more of themselves to me.  Well. The prayer is being answered and the dazzling is back.  The best way to describe what's happened is that I've had visions or dreams that are different than my regular dreams.  I cannot describe it well- but its kind of the difference between watching a live play and watching a TV show.  They both tell a story, but one is much more real because it's right in front of you. So while I don't know what to call them... that doesn't matter. I want to share some of the stories that go along with them. Just call me Joseph and I'll get my technicolor dreamcoat ready to go.  What was odd was that I had three of these visions three days in a row. So here is the first one. 

The first vision I had actually incorporates the 2x4. :) LOL.  So in this vision, a 2x4 was rotating through the air and coming right at me. Well... it stopped just short of implanting itself in my eye and then poofed into sawdust.  Behind it was an image of a bride. Yeah. That's all there was to the vision.  Short and sweet. And odd. :) I've been praying about it and the best interpretation and application I have  for this is that the poofing 2x4 is meant to represent God's grace in that he was going to remove the plank before it even got to my eye and its a symbol of his mercy too.  I have trouble hanging onto those concepts of grace and mercy sometimes... and at the time when this happened, I was in need of both of them. So the visual is nice to represent that. OH.. the image of the bride?  Yeah.  Not sure about that. But I think its meant to represent that we are the bride of Christ and he's willing to take that plank away because of how much he loves us.  Yeah. let's go with that. :)  

Open Doors

Unfortunately, I do not feel like I can tell you the entire story about the second vision. Why? Well... it was for someone else. The basic premise was that this friend needs to make some decisions, and by closing the door on one choice, it opens up A LOT more doors. Why would I have a vision for someone else? Well.. God uses people to speak into our lives. And one of the open doors did involve me. And a call to a bigger global mission. And so while I know this vision was meant for someone else.. I do think God incorporated the part about the bigger global mission for me because it was while I was having lots of apprehension about the mission trip I was supposed to attend in December.  So it was a 2-for-1 deal! And a promise for me of other mission opportunities to come. In talking with the person who was the subject of the vision, it does sound like God is using this image to give words to a situation and confirmation of some choices to that person also. 

Profile Pictures

So the third vision is actually great imagery but also kind of funny. In this vision, I was on facebook. :)  If you are familiar with the new timeline version of the profile, this refers the small thumbnail picture that is put up.  So I was looking at my friend Tom's facebook page, and his picture was him  and he was dripping wet, in a white robe, as he had just come out of baptismal waters. And in the small image, all you could see is that someone was holding his (bearded- he doesn't have a beard) face in their hands. When I clicked to view the entire image, it was actually a picture of Jesus holding his face and him gazing upon His face.  I asked Tom about the picture because I was really confused as to if it was recent, or if he had been baptized again. I was so dumb and couldn't figure it out. I was so perplexed. :) But then he told me it was the best reflection of who he is and then he told me to look at my facebook page too. And there was the same image, except with me (and no beard ;) ) of Jesus holding my face and me looking to Him too.  Not sure I'm describing it well.. but it was pretty awesome.  :) I think it was a reminder to me that our best image should be one that reflects Jesus in our lives and that it can be seen through everything we do.

So there you go. Some of the 'dazzling' that's been going on in my life lately. Sure.. there are other examples- like when driving to Indy last week, I was praying about some stuff in the car, and praying to be filled with the Spirit. And I was starting to feel as if that was happening, so I asked God for confirmation of that.. and just as I asked that, I passed a truck that said "Spirit Trucking" on the side of it.  C'mon.. that's my God of comic irony coming through! That's great stuff. :) 

I hope y'all are uplifted by this. As mentioned early on... I don't really get it either. But I hope that it at least gets you to thinking about the way the Lord works in your life. And I'd love to hear some of those stories too! Here's to more 'dazzling' in the weeks to come! 

Day 3- 20- so I got a little behind on blogging

Alright. So what's been happening with my 40 days of 40 you ask? Especially since we are now about halfway through that???? A LOT! I'll try to do the summary version.. but I hope you'll stick with it even if its long. :) (BTW- read a document from someone at the university today that spelled 'summary' as 'summery.' Guess I'd like all my overviews to bright, sunny, hot, and full of flip flops too... but seriously- learn how to spell. )

Ok- the workout update- these people are kicking my butts. And my competitive nature comes out when I bring my friends along. I'm jealous of everyone who just automatically does a lunge to perfect position- but bring it! Still have a couple weeks for my fitness ambassador challenge.. and I'm like 300 points behind the leader..but i still have hope for an 11th hour push to get everyone in to workout with me! So keep coming!

Other notes... Big Birthday Bash #1-crafts are one of my favorite things.. so Paint Your Own Pottery at All Fired Up! I made this:

I'm sure everyone else made lovely things.. but I haven't seen any of them. :)

Then...I worked a lot. Ugh.. but that led up to Big Birthday Bash #2! The one where this fella came to town as my birthday gift! And we all know he's certainly one of my favorite things :)  And we talk a lot about My Most Favorite Thing (yes, God, Jesus, and the Spirit- 3 things or one thing?yeah... )

woo hoo! so excited to have my bestie in town for a bit! (He will kill me for calling him that- but why not. It's my birthday! :) ) And we did some of this:

and some of this:

and some of this:

(why yes, that is chick-fil-a)


So that was great.. and such a special visit... time is Tom's most precious gift, so I was so glad to have some of it.

And then there was Big Birthday Bash #3. Yes.. the one that was top secret. The one that I was soooo excited about but couldn't tell you about.... but now I can.  So about a year and a half ago, my favorite restaurant went out of business- after only having been in business for about the same amount of time.  I was devastated. They were awesome. And delicious. And my number one catering go-to for work. And a tropical getaway in the midst of winter.  They were the Hawaiian Hut. They closed saying they were moving to Washington State for family. Little did we know... they didn't actually move. OH.. they had intentions to.. the owners mom thought she had cancer. But turns out she was ok! (Praise God!) So.. they stayed put. But had lease issues with the building. And went out of business. Fast forward 1.5 years... and I get an email from one of my former students who is currently working at Purdue. She says, Min Min.. I had Hawaiian Hut for lunch today! I say, Impossible!  But it was true. The owner is a student in her department. And he made lunch for them. And thus begat my mission. I must have Hawaiian Hut once more... and for my big birthday! :)  And with God, all things are possible - so Praise the Lord- they were willing to bring me a little taste of Heaven once more! And it was delicious. So my Big Birthday Bash #3 was just having people over to my house for dinner to enjoy one of my favorite things- Teri chicken, pineapple sprinkled with crack dust, and cupcakes.  What a celebration. :)  I'd love to show you pictures... but I didn't really take any. I was too busy enjoying everyone's company :)


And one final note from my first 20 days of 40. God is good.  And he proved that in so many ways during this time, but there's one big one. I've decided that I will not be going on the mission trip to Honduras in December. Why? Well... there was a lot of apprehension for the trip. I could not pin point it.. so I asked my Spirit Team to pray about it. And it quickly became clear that while I am still called to missions, I am not called to this mission. God has a plan for me... and I don't know what that plan is.. but I want to be obedient to Him, so I will leave myself open to that call and His plan. :)

Here's to the next 20 days... :)

40 Days of 40-Day 1 and 2

So... day 1.. it was my birthday. It was everything my birthday was supposed to be... celebrations, indulgences, lots of love... and no working out. :) Cmon... you know there are just some days you get a free pass from working out.... death in the family, bad visit from Mother Nature, undiagnosed disease you don't want to share with everyone, and your birthday! 

But with it being my birthday... and the reality of being 40 now actually at hand, I'm doing well with it. Well, except for one thing that keeps freaking me out. I had this realization that I am the age now that my 'adopted family' from Elmwood was when they took me on as a young, naive, dorky college student. I don't know why this freaks me out.. just a time/space continuum thing I guess. 

so as for Day 2... I didn't work out today either. Stress got the best of me.. and time crunched the me in from both ends... but got to participate in a Christian Passover service. It was cool.  I'm not a history buff AT ALL... so its experiences like this that make me learn and it was awesome! 

But here's to a better Day 3..with lots of positivity  and definitely a workout. :) 

40 Days of 40- Day 0

Day 0? (zero, not day-o, daaaay-o)Yes.. day zero. If you want me to complicate it, it's a computer science term. If you want me to uncomplicate it, its I'm not actually 40 yet. :) So day before turning 40... It can be day zero.

Just to remind you what I'm doing... I'm trying to become a Fitness Ambassador for Miracles Fitness. I LOVE this place! And its been so good to me! So now.. there's a 6 week contest- just in time for my birthday! If I win.. I win $1000. If I win 2nd place, I can get a $250 gift card or a month of free 1-1 training! So how do I earn points? Simple.. you come with me! :) Seriously.. I can bring ANYONE for 3 free workouts!(and up to 5 people each time I go- so grab a friend too! ) And I get points if you come with me! woo hoo! Sure.. there are other things I can do to get points (lose weight& body fat, testimonials, pictures) and I plan to do those too... but the real meat is in the guests! So who wants to come with me???????????

Go here to sign up for up to 3 times you would like to join me! Since today is my actual starting date... I already had my first guest join me! Yay for Amy McLean and her willingness to come along! I think she'd tell you she loved working out with Adam too! :) ANDDDDD.... YOU get some quality bonding time with me!!!!!!

Hope you'll consider joining me! Opportunity ends in May!

See you soon!

AAAAAHHHH...40!!!

2 weeks. 2 weeks. I'll be 40 in 2 weeks. I certainly do not feel like I've lived that many years. (Nor do I look like it ;-) ) but its true.

So instead of letting it get to me, I've decided to celebrate with my favorite things! So how am I celebrating? Many ways...

1) Traditional fun crafty event- paint your own pottery at All Fired Up! This wasn't my original idea for the crafty element... but its easier and more inclusive. I want everyone to enjoy the celebration and other options were very limited on space.. so pottery it is! This will be on Monday April 9th... at 6 pm...so feel free to join me!

2) The Mission Trip- I have decided I will be going on a mission trip to Honduras in December. The church I am going with wants a commitment in April- so while the trip is still a bit away... the commitment comes alongside my birthday.. so why not incorporate it! I've decided to give people the option to pledge financial or prayer support in lieu of birthday gifts.

3)Fitness Ambassador- Miracles (my gym) is running a contest to become a fitness ambassador. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DATHsGfeMXo And I want to win! It runs for 6 weeks and I earn points for various behaviors. ONe of which is bringing in guests to work out with me! So let me know if you want to join me! There are points for doing testimonials too.. so I think I am going to do 40 days of 40 and blog and video my progress.

4) That one special thing...yeah.. its still in the works. and still top secret. And its going to seem like no big deal when y'all finally find out. But its exciting for me. (No.. not a tattoo... :) ) So hang in there. :)

If you would like to see more about options 1-3.. visit http://tinyurl.com/mindy40

I'm about to Be....

Old??? Yikes! Age never bothers me until it's a decadal birthday. So yes, I'm just 23 days away from the next turning point of my life. And honestly, I'm good with it. I look back and think about goals and dreams I once thought I'd meet by now, but those don't seem to matter anymore because I build new goals as I go along. :) I listened to a sermon the other day that reminded us that our past is not listed in Romans 8:38 as one of the things that can keep us from the love of Christ... so no need dwelling on it if it's just going to cause problems, right? Can I get an Amen!? :)

All that aside... I know there is a detail y'all want to know about..so here it goes...

You might remember this blog posting. The one where I was trying to decide how to celebrate my birthday 6 months ago? Well... a lot has happened since then and I now have surgery bills to pay- so financially, a fun trip doesn't look like it is going to make to cut. (Some of you are jumping up and down that Donny and Marie are off the table now, aren't you? ;-) It's ok, I can take it. )

But... I've decided to combine some of the options and put them all under the umbrella of My Favorite Things! To make this celebration BIG- I am going to try to have lots of smaller celebration opportunities throughout the month of April! (YES-Celebrating allllllllll month long! :) ) Some will involve my favorite activities, some will involve my favorite foods, some will involve my favorite people (OK- all of them should involve my favorite people, right? ) - some might even involve a surprise! I have found a mission trip I am praying about and think I will ask people to pledge toward the trip rather than bringing gifts to any of the smaller celebrations (great idea from my sister!)

So..... what are the elements to the collection of celebrations?? I'm not telling yet. *sigh* I know. I've hyped it all up, and now I'm not telling. Plans are in the works. And some of them are going to seem ridiculous (but you'll come because you love me and want to celebrate, right? ;-) ) I'm waiting for some confirmation on dates. (As in calendar, not male escorts.) So keep your calendars and minds open... and i'll keep you posted when I know something!

I Need a Revival

So... I've been doing LOTS of reflecting lately. And what I discovered is that I've been selfish and wanting someone to rescue me, make life easy, look after my interests, speak some truth to me, etc. BUT I wasn't willing to ask for it. What I've found is that now that I am asking for it, I was asking people, not God. Yes, God often gives messages through His people, but I has not even been asking him to do that. :)

So in light of all this reflection, I found this gem from Oswald Chambers in my inbox the other day and wanted to share it with y'all...

WHEREBY SHALL I KNOW?

I thank Thee, O Father ... because Thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
unto babes.

Matthew 11:25
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=mt+11:25&sr=1

In spiritual relationship we do not grow step by step; we are either
there or we are not. God does not cleanse us more and more from sin,
but when we are in the light, walking in the light, we are cleansed
from all sin. It is a question of obedience, and instantly the
relationship is perfected. Turn away for one second out of obedience,
and darkness and death are at work at once.

All God's revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by
obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking.
Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God's truth work in
you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can
get to know is to stop trying to find out and by being born again.
Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is
opened up. One reads tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when one
five minutes of drastic obedience would make things as clear as a
sunbeam. "I suppose I shall understand these things some day!" You
can understand them now. It is not study that does it, but obedience.
The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens and the
profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never
reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know
already. Beware of becoming "wise and prudent."

Big Day, Big Ideas

It's been a while since I blogged... who cares? Its my blog. Now that we have that out of the way...

I've got 6 months. Actually 2 days less than 6 months. Until what you ask? I've got a big birthday coming up in April... I'm not even going to say the number, because the 2 people I've mentioned it to in the past 24 hours are still in shock that I could actually be that old. (Bless their clueless male souls.) It's a blessing and a curse to have such youthful skin and and no kids. People assume I'm a carefree teenager. (OK- maybe that's a SLIGHT exaggeration of how young people think I am. But I have aged well. And while I'm bragging- I'm ranked first in my fantasy football league- so take that college boys. :) boo-yah! )

Forget all that though... we've got some decisions to make! For the past decade (or since I was 6 years old if you don't want to do the math) I've wanted to have an experience, not just your standard cake and gifts, to celebrate my birthday. It started simple when celebrating 30- rented a room at one of my favorite restaurants and invited everyone I knew to come join in a self-paid dinner. It was a good start... but not quite complete. I then moved into celebrating with a paid dinner and an after dinner event with just a few close friends and family- and really enjoyed that. Then there was Min Min's Wicked Bday Bash New England Style celebrating with a few friends in New Hampshire. Awesome. There was the kidnapping/surprise look who came to dinner night thanks to Susan and Caitie one year... And another one was spent celebrating with Jean, Ryan, and Applebees Matt while everyone else was at The Tiffany Blue Tulle Wedding Rehearsal :) And who can forget the flower arranging party 2 years ago(very informative and fun- and delicious homemade flowerpot cupcakes by RR... ) and our foray into jewelry making last year.

So.. how do I top all that? It's got to be bigger and better (just like me!)

Here are some things I've been considering:

A New Experience: The Firing Range- really.. shooting guns is fun. Why not bring along anyone who wants to come and release a little aggression. Happy Birthday. You're dead. :)

The Altruistic Idea: Medical Mission Trip- I would really like to go on a medical mission trip sometime in my life- and I've been following the options from this site: http://www.internationalmedicalrelief.org/ So... maybe I should ask people to donate toward my going on a trip with this group? Happy Birthday! I saved your life and changed mine! :)

The I'm A Little Bit Country, I'm a Little Bit Rock and Roll Idea- Girls weekend in Vegas including a Donny and Marie Concert. You know you want to come. :) Happy Birthday! Ooops, I mean, what happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas!

The Surprise Party- I don't know what this would look like because it would be a surprise! But I'd want all my friends from near and far to be there.. that would be the best surprise! Happy Birthday! Get Your Chin off the Floor, yes I'm really here! :)

The My Favorite Things Party- similar to the Donny and Marie.. but without them... just going to lots of my favorite places with all of my favorite people- problem being I pretty much like everything and everyone! Happy Birthday! It's just like any other day! Indulge! :)

So.. what do you think? Any other ideas? We've got some planning to do before I turn 25!

All ideas and comments welcome! :)

1514 Lionheart Lane West Lafayette Home for Sale - The Cathy Russell Team Real Estate

I got most everything else on my wishlist (other than Just Dance 2) for my birthday... so I thought I'd get myself a present... here it is:

1514 Lionheart Lane West Lafayette Home for Sale - The Cathy Russell Team Real Estate

Kind of reminds me of the time I bought myself a car for valentines day... :)

Texas Revisited: Dallas, the unofficial capital of the Porsche Carrera

So in case you didn't know... I was in Dallas last week. I know.. not my usual Texas destination... but this was for work.

Let me bore you with the work stuff first.. then we will get to the fun stuff! It was a conference. Same one I go to every year. Next year it will be in Raleigh. That's pretty much the highlight. :) Ok- just kidding.. there was lots of good stuff if you like computer science education- so... that's all of you right? :) Actually... the highlight was the closing keynote. If you've ever wondered why you have to enter those crazy mixed up letters when ordering something through ticketmaster or signing up for something... google Luis von Ahn and check out his work on reCaptcha. Its pretty cool.

Ok... so now the real exciting stuff. I like people. And I like investing time in people. And I like keeping up contact with people. So- it should come as no surprise that I knew people in Dallas! It is hard to balance work and personal responsibilities when traveling for work.. but I gave it my best shot.

I was able to meet up with my friends Dan- former campus minister here at Purdue, and Kerry- friend from my Michigan City days.

Dan was kind enough to pick me up from the airport upon my arrival! He had asked me what I wanted to do for fun while I was in town and I told him I did not have anything particular- I just wanted to do what was fun for him and of course eat some good food. So... of all the things to do in Dallas- what do you think we did? Ok- keep guessing. Nope.. guess again. Ok- fine, going to a children's hospital probably wasn't on your list. But that's what we did! We did not just randomly show up at a children's hospital and be creepers though. :) There was a family at Dan's current congregation whose baby was having heart surgery and he wanted to stop by to check on them. Turns out the baby was still in surgery when we got there. But I got to meet and pray with this sweet young couple- and prayed over many other families as we navigated the halls of this stunning hospital. And honestly- I wouldn't say it was 'fun'- but certainly I would chalk it up to being enjoyable.

I cannot even express how great it was to catch up with Dan. It's always nice when you can see growth in people you care about. I do suspect that growth is easier to see when its been 3.5 years since you've seen them though. ;-) I was always grateful for the truth that Dan was able to speak into my life in the past- but even much more so when I had been missing it for so long!

OK- yes we got some good food too! Had a great experience at this Burger Bar Tuesday evening and then met up again for lunch on Friday. We went to Perry's Steakhouse for lunch- and all I can say is it was delicious. They had this lunch special that was a triple rib height pork chop- slow aged, smoked, absolute goodness.

Now getting to see Kerry was just about as exciting because I got to meet her husband too! Kerry left Michigan City just about the same time I did. But she's had quite a few more adventures than I have- she was a flight attendant, real estate agent, and who knows what else. :) The story of how she met her husband was quite entertaining though... she met him on the day he was supposed to get married. How's that for a chick-flick plot line? Short story is- after his then fiancée spent the entire rehearsal dinner badmouthing his friends and family- he decided to call it off. He was the brother-in-law of one of Kerry's friends... and she was babysitting that day when they called it off and thrust into the events of the day. And the rest was history. We also had some good food- Chuy's. One of the vices my Houstonian friends have introduced me to. They have this creamy jalapeno dip that is to die for!!!! Which I also smuggled back on the airplane with me. And all 3 fl. oz. were worth it. :)

So I guess that's about all for my Texas adventure... there's a lot more work stuff... but I don't think it would really interest you. :)

Till next time...