some collected thoughts on marriage...

Recently a customer at work used our phone to call her husband (she apparently needed picked up or something). After getting off the phone (which she had ended with a cute little french farewell) she turned to my co-worker and me and said: "25 years we've been together and I'm still crazy about that man. He's so sweet and He does just about anything for me. He's going all out of his way for me...":) It was adorable. She went on to share an anecdote about how recently they had just climbed into the car to go somewhere and he looked at her and said: "Is it possible that I could love you more right now than I ever have?"I don't know anything about their history, but I loved hearing her talk about the two of them.

Marriage gets such a bad rap in society these days. People rarely share the happy or positive sides of love and marriage; they typically focus on the difficulties and complain about their spouses. Many even openly mock marriage. When Luke and I got engaged I remember people congratulating me, but also getting that vibe that people were thinking: "hope it works out". How is marriage supposed to be successful when that is the pervasive cultural attitude? It's a truly sad state of affairs. Marriage can be such an awesome thing if those involved can learn to be selfless and to be honest and open with each other. We live in such a selfish and self absorbed society. Luke and I are blessed to be surrounded by many people with healthy, happy marriages and I am so thankful for their examples. My Grandpa and Grandma Cummings are going on 65 years or something. How cool is that?!

I don't know if anyone else happened to be watching tv when they aired parts of Patrick Swayze's audio diary, but hearing him talk about his wife of 34 years or so and how much he loved her was very touching. He said marrying her was the best decision he ever made. Once again, I don't know much about their life together, but I do know that they stuck it out and hung in it together and that when he died, they still loved each other.

I'm going this weekend to participate in and celebrate with my friend of 20 or so years as she marries her best friend and I am so excited. Although marriage definitely has challenges and difficulties, it is an amazing journey. The coolest thing is that you are in it together and that you have committed to one other to help each other along the journey of life. Having your best friend by your side is awesome. I have understood that more this past year than ever before.

I am quite certain that 25 and 50 and 60 and 100 (yes, we secretly plan to be married this long:) years into our marriage, I will still be crazy about Luke. I know things will have changed and that we will have been through alot by then, but having him there and having God in our midst will make it ok and worthwhile.

always a good reminder and an awesome promise...

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34

How is September practically over?

I've been feeling somewhat glum of late, thus my lack of posting. Life has kind of gotten me down for various reasons and I try not to let it get the best of me, but it's been a struggle of late. Luke and I have been working opposite schedules and haven't been able to see each other much, which gets old quickly. He agreed to fill in a position at a different location for what we thought would be about 3 weeks and it has turned into 2 months. Thankfully next week is his last one at that location after which he should be back on a day shift.
Life has changed drastically for us in the past year, and sometimes I can't help but feel quite frustrated at what continues to feel like a standstill. Many goals and dreams have had to be put on hold and I'm just really looking forward to progress one of these days.:)
I know God is in control and has the bigger picture, but sometimes I can't help but feel a bit depressed.
I'll try to work on making my next post a bit more optimistic...:)

not a good sign for the art world

I have to admit that I became mildly depressed about art as a whole when I saw in a magazine that a gallery is showcasing a series of paintings done of some of the cast of "the Hills"- one of the all time most ridiculous shows on television. Seriously?! Those people do not need an ounce more of attention; they are already some of the most spoiled, obnoxious people in the tabloids. Ugh. I normally would try to be more tactful in the discussion of "art", but I just found that very disheartening for myself and other artists.:) What's up with the world?

cars, vacation, movies, life...

I've been on vacation this week, which has been a very welcome break.:) I've been able to rest up as well as get some things done around here. We had originally planned to camp this week, but since Luke got that security job he's had to work, so we aren't going anywhere until tomorrow morning when we will head to Chicago until Sunday. I'm very excited to get away for a bit; we always have a great time there and we've found that using priceline etc can make it much more affordable. We are planning to visit the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and take in a White Sox game among other things. We'll be spending an afternoon in Wicker Park area too, which is always a highlight for me.

A couple of weeks ago, after much consideration, we decided to take advantage of the cash for clunkers program as our '89 f150 has been pretty unreliable (not to mention unsafe & terrible on gas). Ordinarily we never would have considered getting a brand new car, but being able to get $4500 out a truck we would have been lucky to make $700 off of was a huge blessing. We've been planning to get a car for sometime and had been saving toward that end, so we kind of felt that this was just another way God was providing for us. Our truck didn't have air bags or a horn and the drivers seat belt definitely wasn't up to par, and neither of us wanted the other party to drive it, so we thought it was time.:) We found a car (nissan versa) that we felt we could afford and bought the very base model (not much to it:). We are pleased with our purchase and it has made car logistics much easier. It's nice to have two reliable vehicles. As many issues as there are with the cash for clunkers program, we felt that it was great solution for the position we were in.

Movies are obviously a frequent topic on my blog (in fact I'm considering starting another blog for my own persoal movie reviews) and I hope that doesn't bore people too much.:) Luke and I both just happen to love movies and it's one of favorite evening activities (complete with our own discussion & assessment:). We recently decided to join Netflix and we are pretty excited about it. When we moved to the southside, we quit getting cable; it was too expensive and we watched movies alot more anyway. We figure netflix is a lot cheaper (ours is $9 a mo.) than cable and for us will be more enjoyable. You can get great classics, documentaries and foreign films that would be hard to find otherwise, not to mention the fact that they arrive in your mailbox.:) We already added over 100 movies to our queue; it can be a bit addictive. I'm not sure how we'll ever get them all watched.:) We just watched "Watchmen" (very good, by the way) and are eagerly awaiting our next selection.

In other movie news, I will be seeing "Julie and Julia" tonight, which should be good. Also, I am ridiculously excited about Tarantino's new movie, "Inglorious Basterds" which opens this weekend. Luke and I seriously can't wait to see it and so we may be finding a theater in Chicago to view it at.:)

Fantasy Football season is quickly approaching, which means fall is almost here. It's hard to believe that summer is all but over. It's felt like a strange one; definitely out of the ordinary. Life has been good, though. Not without it's challenges or moments of being overwhelmed, but God is good and it is such a comfort knowing that He is there taking care of us.

i saw a news blurb...

about Gen Con (gaming convention) this weekend in Indy. I guess that would explain why there was a man dressed like a Zelda character milling about in my art section at work yesterday. I pretended like it was normal.

the big day

So, Marge got married last weekend... and it was a pretty awesome occasion.:) She did a great job planning it and achieving her dream wedding (a vintage hollywood feel). Alot of people contributed their skills and helped make it a very memorable occasion. It's hard to believe she's married; I'm so happy for her and Philip and I'm very proud of them.
I enjoyed designing the invitations and programs. There were moments where I had school flashbacks of deadlines and printer problems, but in the end everything came together fairly well.:) (Although I'm still trying to catch up on sleep:). Alaina and I collaborated on the wedding favors. She made 250 rice krispie treats (Marge's favorite and no small task:) and I designed the tags we attached. For the guestbook Marge and I had the idea to do a painting that everyone could sign and that they would then have as a memory piece from their wedding. I wasn't sure if I would get it completed, but at the last minute I did and we were both happy with the result. I still have to frame it for them... I didn't quite have enough time for that.:) You can see the painting (pre-signage) at Alaina's blog along with several other wedding photos.
Marge looked amazing in her dress (designed and sewn by her new sister-in-law; accessorized by mom (veil) and our sister-in-law (jewelry)). I really appreciated the charge that the pastor gave to th couple; as a married person I find it encouraging and refreshing to concentrate on the Godly advice given to couples at their weddings. I felt that Pastor Beachy's charge was very meaningful and full of good reminders for any married couple. My aunt did a great job decorating and maintaining the "vintage" feel Marge was going for. They had a wonderful jazz band for the reception: the John Harden Project. I have a feeling that if I could have this band at my house playing that music all day long, I would get a lot more done.:) It was a truly beautiful wedding. Congratulations to Marge and Philip!