Yesterday I'd taken to listening to Solid Rock podcasts while cleaning the kitchen on my ipod. I used it in my ipod arm-band so that I wouldn't weird Jan and Jim out with the teachings I was listening to. I mean, I guess everyone assumes 20-somethings listen to pop music while cleaning, yeah? So, today I opted for using the awesome speaker system my way-cool friends, Kim and Jeni got me for my graduation because I was in the bathroom and could shut the door. Plus, without the arm-band, I have more motility of my head/arms, haha.
I've been doing my best to keep Lacy out of my room. I'm of the belief that she used to use the rug in there for a potty spot when people didn't notice she needed to go outside because the first night I was here, it smelled incredibly and overwhelmingly like dog urine. Rug removed, but her habit remains. Thankfully, nothing like that has happened yet, but she started to wander back in that side room. I didn't want her confiscating anything, but apparently, I wasn't on top of it enough.
Death to my left black Old Navy flip flop and the necessary connection to my ipod arm-band. Right about the same time I found this out, I realized I'd gotten bleach on my favorite TWLOHA shirt.
I was super frustrated.
It was almost like I was super mad that after all this time, it seemed like everything had gone pretty much alright. But now, the fury of Hannah was to be unleashed.
No. Not that. Seriously. That's ridiculous. The shirt was old, and I knew there was a possibility of it getting dirty or bleached. The flip-flop was also old, and worth only a few dollars. Same with the arm-band. I got it on ebay for under $5 thanks to my thriftiness.
My next thought was to God. Asking for grace. Patience. Especially towards Lacy. I could see myself hating her for the whole rest of the summer. Over what? Her being a 6 month old puppy and chewing up a plastic flip-flop? *sigh*
I forced myself to 1) eat something, 2) take a deep breath, and 3) keep cleaning the bathroom.
I was listening to the podcast on the story of Jesus, Part 5, "Demons, Pigs, and You" taught by Mike Erre. I'd already heard it at least twice, considering I was able to be there for the teaching, and I listened to it again when I was back at OSU. In it, towards the end, he asks us to find the 3x5 cards placed around the sanctuary, write "God has" at the top, and then list what God has done for us in our lives. Redeemed, Forgiven, Loved, Graceful... endless amounts of things could be written.
It made me think, made me realize how much I'd started to think about myself. Me. My trip to Iowa. This whole thing had been about me. How I could benefit. How I could help people. I'd started back up with my Bible study and was planning with full hope to go to church on Sunday, shouldn't God give me things? A boyfriend, or at least some friends, perhaps? Something... anything? Me, me, me. I was helping Jan and Jim, yes, but I was so involved with myself.
Between realizing that "yeah, it was just a stupid plastic flip flop" and "yeah that arm-band was awesome, but you probably won't use it that much while you're here anyway, it's too hot to run with anyway" and "give her grace, she's just a puppy," was completely mind-blowing.
Being out here is different. Not everyone has a cell phone. Not everyone has an ipod, much less even know what one is. Not everyone has a laptop, or even a computer, much less one with good internet access. Even fewer people have all of the above. I never really think about how fortunate of a place I come from. Yes, I might be a low-middle class college student, swimming in student loans, but I also hold a degree (well... for technicalities sake, almost), I have a laptop, internet, an ipod, a speaker system for my ipod, a cellphone, nice clothes, a car back at home. I have a lot. Way more than I could ever be thankful for.
I've started to miss the simple.
iPod arm band? Awesome, yes, but really? I should be spending my time with family. I'm here with Jan and Jim to do just that: be there with them. Why should I be like those stupid teen-agers on those tv shows and in those movies who are absorbed into their texting and solitary tunes.
It's also a wake-up call. I need to be fearless about sharing my love for Jesus. I'm surrounded here by family, some of which are mormons, others, non-believers, others clueless about anything. It makes me sad. But I shouldn't be afraid. It's almost like God let Lacy chew up my arm-band so that I wouldn't be afraid to listen to the teachings from Solid Rock to myself. If I want to hear them, I either need a pocket, or an open potential to sharing them with everyone in the room. I guess you could almost say it's God being like: "Duh Hannah, don't be afraid! You want to share my love? Share it! Don't be a slacker! You think you want to back off and just bring it along gently? Well, think again, you're going to do it my way."
Needless to say, cleaning the bathroom is very cathartic. I went in half-way through after scrubbing and getting super asphyxiated by bleach, soap, and pine-sol. But man, between cleaning and listening to teachings form Solid Rock. It's amazing what a few hours can do. I went in, the floors basically black, the tile orange and black, toilet super cruddy. It looked beyond hopeless. But, never fear! Nothing an aggressive cleaning can't remedy!
The other thing is that I'm not mad at Lacy anymore. They might call her The Criminal, but really? she's just a 6 month old puppy, learning the ropes of society.
I guess I can also be thankful that it was the little things that she attacked (and even the shirt... it's replaceable). All the rest of my belongings are still safe and untouched by puppy jaws. :) Just a reminder that I now, more than ever, need to keep my door shut, and my stuff together so that there is no opportunity left open for anything like this (or worse) to happen again.
Also, I just want to add that it's been attempting to rain with thunder and intense lightening for the duration of me writing this. I do count the seconds each time there's a flash to see how far away the storm is from us (it's about 10 miles, if seconds per mile is correct).
Also, the most adorable thing ever is when Jim calls the cats. He calls their names and then meows.
>^..^<
As for the rest of my day, after getting up and preparing myself to clean the bathroom, Jim and I went out to investigate the local gym. It's locked from the outside, so apparently one must get a membership on a weekday :P Then we went down to the pool. It's super nice. Either way, Jim said that they'd be willing to pay for pool or gym membership for me and Jan this summer because I'm super active and encouraging to do stuff with Jan. So we opted for the pool because it's cool and swimming is always fun in the summer. We can also always go out on bike rides on the Wabash Trace trail, and walks around town. Neither happened with us today, but there's always tomorrow. :) The BBQ with family has been postponed til tomorrow evening as we're still super busy with packing and Nancy's deck was getting re-stained today.
Rain is exciting. Lightning intimidating. Thunder is ominous and rattles everything in the house.
I kinda like it. :) kinda makes God feel more present somehow.
bathroom before
bathroom after
(lighting is the same in both pictures... yes, the colors actually changed!!! talk about rewarding!)
tub before
tub after
floor before
floor after
(yes, it's a completely different color)
toilet area before
toilet after
check and check
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