A Friday morning in our household...

Ok, this is an honest to goodness re-telling of this morning's events.

I walk into the bathroom half asleep and Jamil is trimming his beard (he grew one the week he was sick and has ignored my jabs to shave it off). He was wearing a shirt the same color as mine and I asked him to go change it. He said he got dressed first so I should change mine. I told him I couldn't cause he hadn't done my Puerto Rico laundry. So here is what ensured.

Me: It makes you look pale, so change it.
Jamil: I am not pale.
Me: Yes you are, in fact in the years since we have been married, you have grown almost white. Actually, we are going out in the sun again, to reclaim the Florida/PR color.
Jamil: No I'm not.
Me: Yes, you are. You are way pale. I am married to the most American Indian in the world, don't want to be married to the whitest too!
Jamil: Maybe it is because you are really a vampire and suck my blood when I am not watching so I am growing pale. (said with a straight face, no laughter, no nothing).
Me: Oh, really? I'm surprised you wouldn't have noticed.
Jamil (matter of factly, still very serious): What? Can you think of a better explanation?

I had to leave for work, but if he is wearing a yellow polo shirt today and you see him, please pinch him for me?

Trusting God

I like to blame things to human nature. The alternative is admitting that I am flaky and that goes against human nature in it's own right, right?

Isn't it strange that one of the reasons people get hurt the most is that they trust people who fail and that they have expectations out of fallible situations and people? Yet, a person gets hurt by a loved one (family member, friend, significant other) and in a little while longer, doesn't that same person forgive or goes looking for or allows a new such relationship to recur? Why don't we lose all hope and trust in all of human nature when we know humans let us down the same way we let others down? Why don't we lose trust in others like we so readily, sometimes, lose trust in God?

Isn't it strange that we can say we believe in a God, who has done such a demonstration of love as is giving His one and only Son to die a horrible death for our sakes, and yet we have trouble trusting Him? We have trouble sometimes by second guessing the goodness of his intentions?

We are absolutely willing to trust people who fail constantly with things like kids, money, posessions and happiness. YET, we have a God that has not failed us ever, and we continually fail to trust Him? Even after He made a clear statement of love in the action of offering His Son as a sacrifice for us?

God has never let me down. If anything, I have let Him down a bunch. Even when I have ignored or forgotten our relationship or put it on a second plane, He has continually made an effort to be there and bring me closer. He provides for all my needs: emotional, spiritual and physical. He really does, if I look around and think about the awesome things that have come about in my life, I cannot arrive to a better conclusion. Yet, sometimes, even shortly after He has shown how much He cares, I find myself wondering what is He thinking now, why am I in this or that or why didn't this or that happen or... over little things eve. At the same time, I am willing to let people who have violated my trust multiple times to have a second chance.

As part of putting God first, we need to learn to trust God. We need to stop wondering about his intentions when his handiwork is not in clear harmony with our desires. We need to trust that He knows better and He has our best interest at heart and this is hard and heart-wrenching and uncomfortable.

The last 8 months of my life have been pretty amazing (to me at least). Some events have been easy, happy and enjoyable. Some events have been tough, frustrating and painful. All events have been 100% God's provision and I am a better person for the amazing journey they make up collectively and individually.

Obligatory Christmas Tree post on April Fool's

So, for those who have been watching, somehow it has become tradition around this blog to post regarding our usually present and somewhat green Christmas Tree.  

This year is no exception, except for one thing.  This past Christmas, we went down to Puerto Rico for the holidays.  Having just gotten rid of 2007-2008 season tree right before Thanksgiving, I figured it made no sense to acquire a tree since we would not be home.  So, we have no pictures of the 2008-2009 tree, because there wasn't one.

However, here is a picture of the 2006-2007 tree standing in our backyard.  Yeah, that year we just planted it in the back as a solution to keep the HOA letters from filling our mailbox.  It is no longer green, or even orange.  Its youthful colors are a thing of the past as are its branches.  BUT, it stands beautifully in testament to our first ever Christmas Tree in our house:

Usually, I also have to make some statement about how, even though this is a post done on April Fool's it is not an actual April Fool's joke. But, this is neither my house nor my tree. Both our defunct trees Rest In Pieces (yes, I meant Piece not Peace) somewhere in a dumpster after being manually shredded to bits sometime in April or November.

All that said, the following related posts from our blog's past are not jokes:

Our giveaway
The winner video post:

2007-2008 Tree featured in 2008's (NOT) April Fool's post
2006-2007 Tree feautred in 2007's (NOT) April Fool's post

Incidentally also NOT an April Fool's joke is that we have lost the pictures of the 2006-2007 tree in Jamil's hard drive crash.