Archives for August 2007

Because every does…

August 27, 2007 by Maren Leave a Comment

I can’t believe that I have now done 2 surveys in one week! These are the only 2 surveys I’ve ever done online, but I couldn’t disappoint Allison. 🙂 Here ya’re…

1. Who were your best friends? I’m still the same way I’ve always been– many friends, but I don’t really claim to have BEST friends. I was the closest to Sarah Jolley my Junior year and though, I had many GOOD friends, I don’t think I had a “Best” friend while at Wright…

2.What sports did you play? Soccer, though not well.

3. What kind of car did you drive? ’76 Mercedes or Suburban (family vehicles)

4. It’s Friday night, where were you? Depends on which school I was at… Football game, Soccer, Play Practice, Ultimate, With Heritage people, at home…

5-10. Were you a party animal? Were you considered a flirt? Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Were you a nerd? Did you get suspended/expelled? Can you sing the fight song?
no.

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. Cox

12. Where did you sit during lunch? Can’t even remember–too many schools–I know who with, but not where…

13.What was your school’s full name? Wright Christian Academy, Daviess County High School, Clements High School

14. School mascot? Wildcats, Panthers, Rangers

15. Did you go to Prom? Yes–to “Banquet”

16. If you could go back and do it over, would you? Try NO…

17. What do you remember most about graduation? A group of us girls got into a fight about how the song we were going to sing sounded too terrible to sing it in public for graduation (it sounded awful…) …the kicker was that it was called “Listen to Our Hearts” lol. Also our principal read “Oh The Places You Will Go” by Dr. Suess.

18. What was your favorite class? Bible Class with Mrs. Vance or Economics with Mr. Biggs– “Don’t use Credit Cards– Postpone Consumption” –this was also where the idea of free land in Montana and the ranch called Tremacre was birthed. 🙂

19. Where were you on senior skip day? In class; don’t remember if we had one???

20. Did you have a job your senior year? I worked at a photo lab for the first part, but got too busy for it.

21. Where did you go most often for lunch? Um….The cafeteria?

22. Have you gained weight since then? What a dumb question… Yes, but don’t know how much–I lost weight in college, then have gained some back–don’t know the difference–maybe 7ish pounds or so??? I don’t know.

23. What did you do after graduation? I worked at a camp as a canteen girl, then went to college.

24. When did you graduate? 1997

25. Who was your Senior prom date? A friend–Micah Humpreys

26. Are you going to your 10 year reunion? Not having one…

28. What was your favorite thing to eat at lunch? Don’t remember… Usually packed…

29. Who was your boy/girlfriend? Major crush, no boyfriend. 🙂

30. What was your favorite memory your senior year? Senior Trip– “Laissez les bons temps rouler”

31. Did you like how you looked in your senior picture? I don’t really care much for how I looked back then–for reasons to not be disclosed on the www. 🙂

33. How have you changed since high school? I’m not so stinkin’ loud. I have a harder time trusting people. I’m married.

Whatever Four?

August 22, 2007 by Maren 12 Comments

4 jobs: Photo lab tech, Camp Canteen Sales Lady, 5^th grade & Middle School Teacher, Ann Taylor Loft Associate

4ish places lived: Bartlesville, OK; Sugar Land, TX; Owensboro, KY; Tulsa, OK; Cedarville, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Louisville, KY

4 TV shows I watch regularly: Survivor, Dateline or 20/20 type shows (that’s about it…sometimes home improvement or cooking shows, but rarely)

4 places vacationed most recently: Great Smokey Mountains, San Antonio, Phoenix, Florida

4 foods I like: Guacamole, Egg Rolls, Sushi, and Mangos

4 places I’d rather be:

On Survivor—so far, I’ve tried out twice… I’ve tried out for the Amazing Race 4ish times. SINCE they didn’t choose me, I’ve never watched the show again. That’ll teach ‘em.
Australia—I’ve always had a hankering to travel there.
Anywhere—With My Husband.
Taking a nap.

4 places I like to shop: Amazon.com, Ebay, Marshalls, and Hand-me-downs…the jeans I’m wearing are hand-me-downs from a coworker who’d lost weight…gee…that’s a compliment…

AND IN COMBINATION WITH ANOTHER SURVEY, since you are on the edge of your seat with the excitement from this one already (sarcasm dripping)…

4 favorite places to be……..a state park in the fall, a cozy couch with a good book, anywhere next to Michael or zippy, a sushi restaurant

4 + 4 Favorite things to do…. camping in the fall, going to football games (or watching the Buckeyes play), watching plays or musicals, eating, watching movies, playing Ultimate Frisbee,sleeping, and playing ANY game with ANY victim…errr…volunteer.

Thing I wish I could do in the future… invent a game that was as popular as Monopoly, be on a game show, pay off my house, live life to the fullest because of Him!

Fun facts about my past…

I went to 3 high schools in 4 years.
In middle school, my mom gave me a home perm that fried off my hair where bangs would have been. People started looking at my forehead when they were talking to me, so I had to cut bangs that covered the singed hairs.
I can still recite the lines to my middle school theatrical debut (haha) in Midsummer’s Night Dream as the Wall (yes, that was my character…), “In the same interlude, it doth befall, that I, One Snout by name, present a wall…” Not very many people can say they were a wall (Snout) in a play.
In second grade (ONLY for competition’s sake), I memorized 2,000+ lines of poetry, and received a stuffed dodo bird as a reward.

4 random facts about my childhood… (Sent by my mom as I was trying to think of facts…)

While a child, I wanted a band-aid so badly that I bit my toe in order to create a boo boo.
Locked my mom out of the car in order to avoid discipline at a busy intersection at age 5.
When I was 3 and was disciplined, I told my mom that she was “wasting my time.”
After an argument with Ross, my mom made us say something nice about the other person. I thought and quickly came up with, “Although I don’t always act like I love you, I really do.” Ross thought and thought and thought and thought and thought and thought, and all he could come up with was, “Well… you keep yourself clean.”

I wonder why all of the facts from my mom above involve injury or discipline? HMMMMmmmmm…perhaps I was a handful…

When tagging for this, I instantly (because of the nostalgic post) became reminded of the unathletic, awkward kid at a recess game being picked last–not saying that this relates to any of you, I just didn’t want to pick…plus, i love reading other’s blogs—SO, I TAG EVERYONE that wants to fill this out and hasn’t done so already: Michelle, Allison, Amber, Amy, Ann Marie, Kerri, Brittany, Ben, Carrie, Michelle, Hannah, Molly, Shelley, Jamie, Julie, Brooke, Kelsey, Daniel, Krista, Katie, Kristen, Sara, Laura, Liz, Lucinda, Brooke, Bethany, Lynn, Melissa, Marla, Beth, Vianna, Rachel, Risha, Rebekah, Renee, Sarah, Emily, Joanna, Kelly, Jen, Susan, Megan, Lisa, Chrissy, Andrea, Dave, Christy, Maren, Katie, Andrea, Alex, Claudia, Abby, Andrea, Michael, Jason, Christopher, David, James, Matthew, John, Robert, Brian, Joseph, Jennifer, Jessica, Melissa, Heather, Amy, Sarah, Angela, Amanda, Michelle, Elizabeth (I also just added the 20 most popular names in 1978 too just in case I had forgotten someone—gives me a 70% chance that I’ll get them on this list, too…lol)… and ANYONE ELSE, I’ve missed accidentally, please feel free to join. THE MORE THE MAREN-ER, I always say. (actually, I don’t, it just fit seeing how I just listed all those names…)

Happy Wednesday, folks!

Random

August 16, 2007 by Maren 11 Comments

Some more stuff from my little yellow notebook… The following are some fun quotes I wrote down….Some serious, some funny… I don’t know the sources unless they are mentioned.

Unless you can create the universe in 6 days time, maybe you should hold back from giving God advice.

Christian service is never for the purpose of getting something. It is because we have already received it. (Personal side note: I think that there are far too many Church hoppers/Church shoppers who go from one church to the next looking for the perfect place or the next best thing– Often, I feel, there is this faulty consumer mentality…instead of “How can I serve?” They are wrongly asking, “What’s in this for me?”)

Love is being willing to face the risks of seeing your spouse’s dream come true.

Men for the sake of earning a living forget to live.

Forbid that we should ever consider the holding of a commission from the King of Kings a sacrifice, so long as other men esteem the service of an earthly government as an honor.– David Livingstone.

God has every right, and my permission to rearrange my life at any time, in any way, in order to fufill His plan for its influence to His glory. [Personal note: I struggle with this because often times, I want MY life, MY way, just the way I plan life out. 🙁 It was a good kick in the pants to read this.]

Some are more concerned that they may be noticed than that Christ may be seen.

A real person isn’t afraid to give his pet parrot to the town gossip. — Billy Graham

His hair looked like the governer’s pardon got to the warden right after he plugged in the chair.-Zigg Ziglar

“Mayonnaise” a lotta people here!

Happy Thursday!

All the time

August 15, 2007 by Maren 8 Comments

A few years ago, Michael and I went through the darkest time of our lives. Without going into detail, it was a time of questions, hurt, & despair, but God was so evident during those times. I have recently found a notebook that I kept from around that time, and was grateful for some of the comforts that He provided then. I can remember at the beginning of our struggles, God particularly provided this song—offering so much comfort during that especially bleak time. What a reminder that although pain comes, GOD IS FAITHFUL. During that time, a valuable lesson was instilled within me that was hard for me to grasp until that time (…being the People Pleaser that I am): People will disappoint me, and that’s why my faith has to be in God alone.

1. Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

4. Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Singing this song, at the time, made my tears flow endlessly, YET COMFORTED ME. Looking back, I’m thankful for what happened. God’s hand was evident even through our struggles and He remained faithful, and always will be so.

Shortly after this, we made a trip to Guatemala. It was there, that God STRONGLY reminded us of His faithfulness in providing encouragement from the most unlikely place. We had many Guatemalan pastors and pastors’ wives pray for us and the church that we hoped to plant. During that trip, I clung to this song which was such a needed blessing at just the perfect time.

You are the rock of my salvation.
You are the strength of my life.
You are my hope and my inspiration.
Lord unto You will I cry.

I believe in you, believe in you.
For your faithful love to me.
You have been my help
in time of need.
Lord, unto you will I cleave.
You are the rock of my salvation.

I’m thankful that my old notebook provided this special reminder today.

All the time, He is GOOD! Praising Him!