Friends.

I love this picture. 

About a month (ish) ago I was at an event...

(Without going into too many details)

(To protect the identity of all persons involved)
(ok..mostly myself)

Honestly I was not looking too forward to this event, maybe just maybe, a person was attending I was not too keen on seeing, not totally dreading, but just that feeling of..."really I could go my entire life without seeing that person ever again and really be ok". You know that feeling, right?

I sat down...

Then a really awesome thing happened.. one of my girlfriends came and sat down next to me, not the dreaded person, but the, "I'm really glad to have known you person". The kind of gal that unexpectedly comes into your life and makes it better.

I love those kind of persons.

Then I felt safe, like I had no worries.  No matter who sat by me, all would be well.  It really is just about one of the best feelings ever.

That feeling of being apart of a friendship that has mutual respect, honesty, loyalty and love with just enough of "I'm gonna bust your arse if you get out of line."

From what I gather.. you can't get there unless you are willing to take a risk, open up, be vulnerable.

It's scary.

There are those sad times when you hold your heart out (it's a little like being naked) and the person who you are giving it to does not want it, or worse takes your heart and hurts it.  You might get it back slightly bruised.. a little smaller.. pieces may even be missing. It happens, it stings, if you choose, it could even make you bitter.. please don't let it.

Because when it's good, it's really good.  It's safe, happy, sit next to me and have my back, give me good (although not always easy) advice, share a meal, yes your butt does look really big in those jeans, will you forgive me?, yes, I will forgive you, love my kiddos, listen to me cry, share a meal, be silly,  shop, drink coffee, share a meal, say nothing for long periods of time, share a meal, laugh till Amber looses bladder control, share a meal, talk about our past, talk about the future and dream really, really big, it's super good..unicorns and squishy pink clouds kind of good. (did I mention eating?)

I have those friends.

I am that friend.

And it's one of the best parts of this funny little journey we call life.

The List.. Kony 2012 Style.

**What would a Kony post be without a picture of a cute African child??**

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you might have heard a thing or two about the Kony 2012 movement.  If you did not actually watch the video, I'm sure you at least saw it pop up on your facebook news feed about 100 times. Last I checked the video has over a 100 MILLION views..crazy.  Also.. since the launch of the video the director of the video had a bit of a melt down, a very public melt down. The whole thing, from the 100 million views to the public melt-down has captured my attention.  I honestly think it's the human rawness of it all.. This is a true life story..how life tends to be for most of us normal schmucks, so...

I'm honoring it the best way I know how.. The List.

10 things I learned from Kony 2012.

10.  Be Naive 

This story is a David and Goliath story, a group of people coming together, moving across political and religious lines towards a greater good.  It sounds so simplistic and naive that my inner skeptic could not HELP but start in.. but wow, what if it actually works?

"When a thing has to be attempted, one must never think about possibility or impossibility". C.S. Lewis

9.   Facebook=complete game changer. (duh)

NO ONE can deny our world has been changed by the invention of facebook.  Think about that for a minute...  You and I are an active part of an invention that has seriously forever changed our lives.
(I guess the bigger question is..do we use that power for good or for evil?)

8.  Social media does not equate physically doing something.

One of the (many) problems that has come along with the new social media frontier is the feeling that we are actually apart of something just because we like it, repost it, tweet it, blog, ect...
There is a huge chasm between tweeting it and doing it.

In a way it's a little like only opening half of a gift, we miss out on so much by not making a real life human connection, the sexiness goes away really fast on facebook.  Getting your hands dirty brings life and meaning to your cause, makes it so much more personal.

7.  Rejoice in others success.

I have a dear friend that is doing amazing things in the country of India (www.walletsforwater.com).  Is his work any less valid than Invisible Children? Nope.  There are MANY organizations out there that bust their humps daily to make the world a better place.  Playing ourselves against each other (my NGO is better than yours!) does no good to anyone.. especially the peeps we are all trying to help.

6.  We don't have to give lots.. we just have to give.

(time, talent and finance)

5.  The road is long.

In the beginning of the video Jason talks about how he started on this journey almost 10 years ago.  Seriously 10 YEARS, in our facebook world all has been forgotten in 2 weeks..but 10 years?? Think of all the doors slammed in their face, the "no thank you's", set backs...and to keep going, growing, moving forward, expanding, redirecting. Amazing.

4.  Occupy Wallstreet

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE learn a little lesson on how powerful you can be if you channel your passion in a more um.. positive direction?
(Cardboard signs and squatting? Working well for you?)

3.  Pain can birth amazing stories.

I hold closely to this belief.  I kinda have to.  If the pain I have experienced in life is for nothing...that is a little bit of a dismal thought.  Using those moments to propel us into better stories..better people, well...it sure makes that pain a little bit less of a bitter pill to swallow.

2.  Loyalty. (his peeps are sticking right by his side)

When you find yourself in the middle of one of lifes many storms, who do you want in the boat with you?? You want the people that have your back..always.  You need a person who will smack you around when you screw up as well as smack around other people when they try and take you down.

(note to friends..it's only a matter of WHEN I have a nervous breakdown..not if)

1.  Take care of yourself first.

Being kind to others also means being kind to ourselves.  In our current society of "the busier I am the cooler I am" thinking self care does not sound sound sexy... "I've found the cure for cancer and been awake for the past 72 hours!" sounds waaay sexier.

What did the Creator of the Universe do on the 7th day?? RESTED! Even God needed a little snooze.

Another thing...

You know that secret dream you have deep down inside?? The one that you hold so close and so dear?
You hardly even dare to whisper it late at night when you're all alone..but imagine one day you woke up and the entire world knew about that dream..

then people started turning on you because of the craziness of that dream..because it was too big, too simplistic..not true... ect. ect.

That would be like my worst nightmare..ever..I can't even imagine having something so deeply personal attacked publicly.. really.

Grace, compassion, kindness I beg for these daily, I guess the least I can do is pass it on to others.

I know Kony is about catching an evil killer in Africa, but it's actually taught me a little something about life..right here in Snohomish.

Shameless self promotion!

Woohoo!! Let's hear it for some shameless self promotion!

(When I'm insecure about something I often resort to sarcasm...it's a super awesome skill of mine..be jealous)

I blogged about my first big article being published over here on my biz blog.

Go read my story.. it's a good one, I promise:)

Thanks!

Sweet mercies

(overly edited photo courtesy of my iphone)

One of my favorite sweet mercies.. Daffodils.. they are the Paul Revere of spring!

Sunday at church one of our Pastors mentioned,

"sweet mercies."

I like to think of a sweet mercy as a gift.. a little like when the person in the sbux drive-thru buys your drink. You know, not something that is not huge, not something that you desperately need..just a little help..a bit of an unexpected blessing for you.. a sweet mercy.

Most days (after all the chips are gone and the last bit of coffee is drank) I get caught up in the not-so-mercy-filled part of life. This pretty much always leads to me thinking about all the BAD stuff, the stuff that I'm NOT thankful for... (sickness, flat tires, large dental bills, kiddos running late, republican primary campaign ads).

I decided that I need to focus a bit more on the sweet mercies this week, maybe slide on a pair or rose colored glasses while sipping my half FULL glass of iced Americano, take a moment to notice all of the sweet mercies my Creator has bestowed on me...

~ sunday naps

~2 hour school delays

~deep friendships

~letters from Kenya

~bones that heal

~freshman sons that still kiss their Mother in front of all their friends

~freshman sons having friends that don't tease them for still kissing their Mother

~softball with my girl

~the smell of spring

~the smell of a new book

~freedom from mans condemnation

~smiling at random people

~seeing friends succeed in building their dreams

~happy news

~safe relationships

~making another person happy

~unexpected presents in the mail (have I ever mentioned how much I love getting real mail?)

~longer days..(yay!)

~brighter mornings

~coffee (duh)

~silence

~encouraging words from a respected person

~my space here, this blog

~a good book

~laughter

~my dinner table with 6 Strehle's in attendance

~letting go

~just the idea of summer being a few months closer **sigh**

(I won't lie.. a long stay at on a tropical island, with really great child-care, drinks with umbrellas and a strict no-shoes policy would also be considered a "sweet mercy".)

(just sayin)

Truthfully dear reader I have this funny little feeling, like maybe if I start looking for, you know..taking the time in my day to acknowledge the sweet mercies of life, I just might see them everywhere.. all over.. like all up in my business.

Because life is not always easy (mostly with the not) but that does not make it any less beautiful, some days we just need to look a little deeper for that beauty.. sweet mercies.