A Funk...Plus Other Stuff

It's funny that so many people wrote about being in a funk yesterday. I felt the same way myself. Honestly, I had one of the most emotional days (at least anger wise) that I've had in a while. Jonathan could do nothing right, and I had zero patience with Conlan. I just didn't want to be happy about anything. After an upsetting incident concerning Conlan (where I was unhappy with myself about how I handled my attitude), I made sure that Jonathan got me up early this morning to make sure I got a quiet time in. After reflecting on my actions of the day, I realized that I haven't had a lot of those lately. In fact, I've found a lot of reasons to ignore it. Well, even though my quiet time wasn't really in depth this morning, it was effective. I read about the temptation of Christ in the desert and also a little in 1 Corinthians. Basically, I have every ability to handle my emotions (regardless of whether or not I'm pregnant), but I have to make myself be obedient to Him. 1 Cor. 10:13 says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." One thing I have trouble remembering about this verse though is that I have to be reliant upon Him in the situation. I honestly can bear very little on my own. A simple sink full of dirty dishes can drive me to tears in a matter of minutes. My temptation is to sit down and hope Jonathan will take care of it (which he so often does.) Not that he can't clean a dirty dish now and then (and he does willingly!), but something as simple as dried-on leftovers shouldn't ruin my day. Anyway, today has been much better.

I decided that in order to combat our recent bout of warmer weather (high 70's), it was time to bring out the Christmas music and bake some breads. I'm saving pumpkin cranberry for a thing we have Saturday, but I am baking a hazelnut pear bread today. (I had planned to do it yesterday, but we had just run out of eggs, and Monday is shopping day. Instead of taking it with a grain of salt, I proceeded to slam cabinets and pout. I did finish breaking the hazelnuts with a hammer though...that helped quite a bit.) I also am burning pumpkin candles and trying to dance around a lot.

Change of subject again...tomorrow is Election Day. I have kept my thoughts on this election silent on my blog this year. I don't plan on revealing who I'm going to vote for at this time either. I just wanted to say this: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Rom. 13:1) God's in charge of this election, and regardless of the outcome, there is nothing to fear. He will place in power who is in His will to rule. So, go vote! Be a part of God's plan.

One more subject change: Leigh tagged me on her blog to participate in another random fact post. Of course, I'm going to participate. I'm actually very excited to think of six completely different facts from before. I won't, however, tag anyone else this time. So no fear. :) Here they are:

1. One of my goals in high school was to learn piano before I graduated from college. I didn't accomplish this, but my fabulous hubby bought me a piano for our first anniversary so that I could make some progress on it. I don't practice nearly enough, but with Christmas coming up quickly, I really hope to learn some songs before December.
2. One of my large desires as a parent is to nurture the creative side of my children. This doesn't always manifest itself in the same way for every child, but I am doing everything I can to encourage Conlan right now with crayons, markers, and paints. (We hold the markers and paints off for when I'm participating too, though.) Within the next few years, we hope to get him interested in music. He already sings all the time and will pick up the Wii guitar when Jonathan is playing the real guitar.
3. I HATE laundry more than any other housework I have to do (along with dishes and toilet cleaning). Washing it and folding it aren't that bad, but I can't stand to put it up. Our hang-ups will often sit on the end of our bed for weeks before one of us finally puts them up.
4. If my husband would let me, I would have the house decorated for Christmas year round. I LOVE Christmas. Everything about the season (other than the shopping the week of) brings me so much joy. I even get out early the day after Thanksgiving and brave the lines, just so I can experience the rush of the season. Even though the secular part of the holiday is beautiful to me, the religious significance is so much more important. However, I find I have to sit back and make myself remember that Christmas is here to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
5. On a somewhat related note, I also love the holiday of Hanukkah, though I don't officially celebrate it. To me, the Jewish culture is part of our spiritual heritage, and historical significance of Hannukah is so important to the formation of Christianity and the formation of our beliefs. (Google it; it's totally worth looking into.) Someday, we actually hope to have a small Hannukah celebration at home...not with all the gifts and partying, but as a reflection on how it impacts us today.
6. Back to art: I have seen the Chicago Museum of Art's Impressionist exhibit twice in my life: once in Chicago in 1999 and once in Houston in 2004. I love staring at Monet's Water Lilies up close. Up close it's just strokes of paint on a canvas...as you back up, it begins to form a magnificent, gigantic mural of...well...water lilies. Probably my favorite painting of all time is Henri Matisse's The Dessert: A Harmony in Red. There was a time where I was sure that I would decorate a room like this. I'm pretty sure I did not see this at the Impressionish exhibit; it is housed in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, I did see Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party, which is one of my mom's favorite. She has a replica in her house. Since we've moved to OKC, I've seen billboards for this exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum through November 2nd (I believe). I finally remembered to look it up at the beginning of October, and I saw that it was in Fort Worth. The next time I was in the car with Jonathan and we drove by a billboard, I expressed my frustration that I wasn't going to have time to go see it. (I was definitely all for seeing it again, as this is a BEAUTIFUL exhibit.) His response: "Ehh, I've seen it." I couldn't believe my ears!! (He was there in 2004 in Houston along with my college roommate.) Of course, he said that JUST to get to me.

The Dessert: A Harmony in Red by Henri Matisse

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Okay. Sorry for the long post. I figured I'd get it all out at once. Time for me to go! It's pear bread baking time.