Humbled by a Bookshelf

Do you ever just feel really ambitious? Do you ever think to yourself, "I could totally do this in under X minutes,"? Have you ever gotten a bookshelf that you 'get' to put together yourself and you are just SO pumped about it? Well...I have.

Last night I went browsing in Target with my friend, Shannon. We (ok, she) stumbled upon a bookshelf that would be PERFECT in my room. So...I snatched that little bugger right up. And when I say "I", I really mean Shannon; and when I say "snatched" I mean...it wasn't that easy. We check out, head home, and Shannon carries the newest addition to my room right up to our apartment.

Now sometimes around midnight I get really good ideas. This was one of those times. It was just about midnight and my wheels were a churnin'. I decided that I was going to quickly and quietly put my shelf together! "It won't take very long," I thought to myself. "I could probably do this in 20 minutes. Psh. No, I can do it in under 20 minutes. Ya. Then I'll brag about how cool I am," I thought. (Okay, I didn't actually think that last sentence!) Yep! I was feeling ambitious.

Here it is! Oh ya, easy peasy lemon squeezy.



Pretty self explanatory. I don't need directions. (But I better keep 'em just in case.)

I grabbed Leah's tool kit and went to work. How hard could it be? I get the frame set up, ready to be screwed together. Whew! That only took...20 minutes! I even took a picture!

So. Proud.

Notice anything wrong? Go on, look again. At the bottom. Ya. I just spent 20 minutes screwing this sucker together, and...I had a board in backwards. Awesome. I chuckle and think, "So much for my 20 minutes. Ha, I'll get it in 30." And set to work.

This is it! I got it. For sure. Everything is screwed in and...then I notice the boards are different lengths. (Look at the picture above again.) The bottom left is sticking out, like it should be. The bottom right...eeeh...not so much. Cool. I WOULD get the only bookshelf where the holes are not right. So I sit there, puzzled, not knowing what to do. Thankfully my awesome, manly friend, Derek, was awake. I sent him a picture of my problem and he knew exactly what to do (of course). I had another board backwards. I couldn't stop laughing. How does this happen?! Oh well. I flipped it, and got everything screwed in correctly.

A little over an hour later...I finally have the frame put together.

Next step: put the back on. That will be easy. It requires a hammer and 28 little nails. Awesome. By this time it's about 12:30 a.m. "I can hammer quietly, no big deal," I thought. Have you ever tried to hammer quietly? Well let me just tell you, there's no such thing. After hammering in the corners and a lot of laughing at myself for being so ridiculous, I decided I better save the rest for a more appropriate time.

After about 2 hours of man (woman?) labor, the finished product!

What I learned from this experience: guys are (typically) better at this kind of stuff. I have a new found appreciation for the male species. Congratulations, men of the world, Derek Birney gave you some brownie points. I would personally like to thank Target (for selling the shelf), Leah (for letting me use her tool kit), my neighbors (for not killing me for hammering at 12:30 a.m.), and for Derek and men everywhere (for...well, for being men).

I hope you enjoyed this little excursion. Until next time.

Over and out.













Thieves of Your Thoughts

"You'd never invite a thief into your house. So why would you allow thoughts that steal your joy to make themselves at home in your mind?” -Unknown

I was once reading a book, The 4:8 Principle by Tommy Newberry, that had the above quote in it. This book is centered around Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." It calls attention to our negative thoughts, whether they are degrading towards ourselves or to other people. God already calls us to thing about noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things, but sometimes we need a fresh, gentle reminder

The thief quote has been on my mind for the last week or so. After thinking about the times this quote has entered my mind, every time it has been because I am complaining in my head how much I hate Kansas, how much I want to be home, how hot is, how annoying something is, and so on. The Holy Spirit is using a quote I read a couple years ago to call me out on unhealthy thoughts. (That's pretty neat!)

If we dwell on negative things, or have a bad attitude towards something--can't look at something with fresh eyes in a more positive way, it will start showing in the way we respond to people, our mannerisms, how we present ourselves--it's noticeable, very noticeable. For example, when I leave home and come back to Kansas the first week or so I am pretty mopey, sad, quiet, and basically not myself because all I can focus on is what I left behind--friends, family, mountains, beautiful weather-- and came to hot, humid, and flat. I forget to focus on the good and the blessings I have here--great friends, new scenery, beautiful sunsets and sunrises. It's all a matter on how you look at life. You know the saying, "Are you a glass half empty or half full person?" Quite honestly it's a valid question. How we view the different changes in our life, how we handle the less than perfect situations--that is what's going to build (or tear down) our character. It's through changes and difficulties that we are able to grow and blossom into the people God created us to be.

Believe it or not (you should probably believe this) the things that enter your mind, whether visually like through movies or real life, or through sounds, such as music or talking, tend to be the things that make themselves at home in our brains and coincidentally our hearts...which means they will be what we dwell on, what comes out of our mouths, and what starts showing in our lives. Think about it: if you listen to music with a lot of cussing in it, you'll start thinking cusswords, even if you don't say them; if you are watching inappropriate movies it'll be what you start thinking about. It's like eating McDonald's everyday for lunch and dinner. It appeals to you, draws you in, and you think it is harmless. But when you are constantly eating all the greasy 'food', the effects will start showing in your body, and even in your attitude.

The way I look at it is it's going to happen one way or another. Am I going to find the joy in it and bless myself, others, and God? Or am I going to have a pity party for myself and be mopey, selfish, and no fun?

Until next time,
  over and out.