Flowers from Jesus

Guess what?
You're never going to believe this....

Jesus sent me FLOWERS!

Honest!

Flowers, sent from heaven, delivered straight to me!

I know what you're thinking

You're thinking....

" Jesus has a flower delivery service?"

I'm here to tell you that... Yes. Yes he does.
It's true.
I mean... would I lie about Jesus?

Ok, so here is my story...

I will start at the beginning....

Actually. Nevermind.

I'm not even sure where the beginning is-

I'll start somewhere in the middle of bitterness.

That's right.

Bitterness.

I'm not sure exactly when the bitterness started,

But somehow it snuck it's way into my heart and ate it all up.

Bitter about what you ask?

I'll tell you what.

LOVE!!!

I hate to bursts everyone's bubble but...

love isn't real
I found out the truth.

Love is like Santa Claus.

It only exists if you delude your mind to believe it does.
Now...I'm all about delusions...

But- only when I know I'm being deluded.
This love business waltzed right in and didn't even tell me it was for pretends.

So...obviously. I was a little bitter when I found love out.
At least Santa leaves you gifts...Love takes all you got and leaves you with nothing.

NOTHING!

So this bitterness thing...

It was kinda bringin' me down.

I couldn't even watch Disney movies anymore without yelling "LIAR!!" every time Prince Charming said something...if he even said anything at all.

Stupid Disney movies.

What a joke.

Happily ever after?

That's just one more unrealistic expectation to add to my list of disappointments of adulthood along with paying bills, and premature greying hair.

So anyways...
This bitterness thing was a problem.
Because I used to really love love.

And Disney movies...

And plus...I'm not even a bitter person!

But- it's not all that easy to just snap out of bitterness.

Especially when you've let it turn into numbness

And when I say you, I mean me.

This story is about me. Remember?

Being numb is really great for about 2 weeks.

Until you realize that you don't care about anything. Or anyone. You don't believe in anything, and life is covered in a foggy film that makes you feel like an outsider in a distopia novel. Everyone is falling in love and chasing their dreams- and you just shake your head at those poor fools and pour yourself another glass of wine.

And while the numbness prevents any feelings of pain or sadness

There is also no joy or happiness.

But

enough about this bitterness.

Let's talk about Jesus flower delivery service....

Named: Nicole.

Nicole, is a friend of mine from high school.
She recently moved to Seattle and joined my small group at church.
I picked this particular night to share my bitter feelings about "love" and how I didn't believe in it anymore.
I admitted that this was probably unhealthy-
though I was enjoying the safety net from feeling anything.
Nevertheless- I was cheating myself out of life.
Life is about love.
I needed a change of heart.
But it's not just that easy.
Because I had been trying to change my heart on my own- and I'll tell you what--
I couldn't.
So- I asked them to pray for my heart.
And that it would be changed.
And feel love again.

Now, Nicole had told me before group started that she had something for me in her car.
So afterwards I followed her out to the car where I was expecting some kind of homemade craft, or a sticker, or maybe even a tiara...
Actually- I'm not sure what I was expecting.

Anywho--

Nicole started rambling nervously about a surprise trip she took to PCC before small group. Without a shopping list or directions from her GPS- she wound up in the parking lot of PCC with some unexplainable feeling that there was something inside the store that she needed to get.

She hesitated to stop worried that the trip would make her late to church.

Nevertheless this feeling was so strong that she found herself wandering up to the doors of PCC without any idea what exactly she was doing there,

when suddenly she saw in front of her her purpose for stopping....

Flowers.

For Me.

She handed me a small bouquet flowers and assured me that they weren't from her.

They were from Jesus.

It was dark out- so I couldn't see the flowers right away, but I thought,

"huh. well, that's nice...I like flowers."

But then I looked at the flowers more closely and realized the miracle that had just happened. There before me were not just any old flowers,

These were my favorite flowers.

The very flowers that will be at my wedding.

The exact color and everything.

Suddenly I felt overwhelmed with emotion.

I couldn't believe it.

Jesus really did send me flowers!

These are the flowers I always look at every time I go to the store and contemplate buying but never do.
These are the flowers that I haven't even told anyone about.

This was my own little secret

Jesus knew.

He always knows.

Suddenly I was melting like a Popsicle on the fourth of July, holding back tears and weak in the knees.

Because...

Jesus really does love me

Love is real.

And way better than I thought it was.

All I needed were some flowers from Jesus to fill me with hope and love.

Laundromats 101

Dear neglected blog.

Good news...

I moved!
And you're never gonna believe this...

I live in a dollhouse.

In the magical neighborhood of Maple Leaf!

I even have my own personal reading room with a window seat and everything.

Ahhh...

My life is a fairytale....
almost.
There's really just one problem...

Apparently dollhouses don't come with a washer and dryer.

Which is totally bizarre.
I mean,

Come on.

Dolls need to wash their clothes too.

So anyways,

I've gotten around this whole laundry thing for about 2 months now...

but it was finally time

I was out of clothes to wear and re-wear and then wear again.

I had to go to....

The LAUNDROMAT!

Which...if you can't tell by my face- is scary.

I mean
We don't even know how to get there!
Or where one is!
Or how to get all our dirty laundry into my car!!

Plus. Did you know that it cost money to go to the laundromat?
I've been saving up quarters for forever now!
And then... I couldn't even figure out where to put them!
Sheesh.
Laundromats these days.
Super confusing!
Anywho.
After asking the laundry lady where to put my quarters
I selected the wrong stupid wash cycle...
Wasted all my quarters and all my clothes on the wrong wash!
There was nothing I could do!
Once the machine starts- you can't stop it.
My clothes were in deep danger of being heated into a size not even a doll could wear!

I needed some coffee to calm my nerves.
And like an answer to prayer- there was Starbucks.
Right next door!
Which made me forget all about my wrong cycle and focus on the important things in life- coffee.
And then I noticed something about Starbucks...
Starbucks is pretty much the only consistent thing in my life
Everything else changes,
But at Starbucks, I know exactly what to expect--slightly burnt coffee, jazz music, pumpkin scones, and Batista's in green aprons.
Ahhh...consistency.
It's good to know I can always count on Starbucks for a false sense of security.
After restoring my sanity-
I ventured back to the laundromat to take on the dryers.

This proved to be character building.

Lesson: patience.

I waited.

And Waited

And waited!!

For like...12 minutes!

Ok so--
the one good thing was that the dryers were on steroids.

But get this.
This is the worst part....

The clothes don't even come out folded...
you have to do it yourself!
What am I even paying for here!

RIP OFF

So...to all you readers out there with a laundry machine in your very own home...

Remember to show your washer a little love.

And if you don't...
I'd be more than happy to.

Water

Water.
Has many magical properties.
It's a drink when your thirsty,
A cool place when your hot,
A shower when your dirty,
And a friend when you're lonely.

I went to the lake feeling like this...

Sad and lonely.

But by the time I left...

The world seemed magical and full of possibilities.
As the sun slipped from view- so did my sadness.
I was left with the peace of the still waters and the glowing moon.

Water.
The solution to all problems.

Last day of summer

I have some sad news everyone...

Summer is over.

Just like that.

It was here yesterday, and when I woke up this morning it was gone.

Good news is...

I knew about summers last day ahead of time

So I was ready.

I called up my friends and told them we had an emergency.

Summer magic is almost gone!

We need to soak in as much as we can.

So we found the nearest lake and jumped in- because lakes as you know- are one of the best places to find summer magic.

I will tell you why...

Because the lake spends all summer soaking in the suns radiant beams of light until its waters are filled with the enchantment of summers magic

Which is why on the last day of summer- the water is the most magical

After a few jumps in the lake-- we could feel summer's magic sinking into our skin.

In sank into our veins and filled our hearts and before we knew it...

We were flying.

Magic.

"Daily Affirmation"

I've been watching this video every morning....


since yesterday...
That makes two days in a row!
And I'm feelin' good! Or at least I do when I finish watching it.
I really want to crawl up on my bathroom counter and do my own little affirmations in the morning- but this whole livin' in a basement thing means you don't get to stand up on top of anything. But don't worry. Low ceilings will not get me down. After all...

I like my whole house!
My whole house is.... GREAT!
I can do anything good!!

yeah yeah...yeah!

Professional baking scientists

You might not know this but...
Mikie and are are basically professional bakers.

I know.
Shocking.
But, as you can see..
We are wearing aprons
And we have flour on our faces.
Which means...
Professional.
Bakers.
Obviously.

Actually...
I think we were more like scientists
Because we were experimenting on all the ways to improve oatmeal cookies...

Mikie did most the work

While I sat around eating the experiments....

NOT!

This picture is much more accurate.
Ok, actually...
I'm not sure who made the cookies
because all I remember is eating lots and lots and lots of dough

But I think we eventually put some in the oven....
See
There's like six cookies in there!

But lets be honest....

The cookie dough tasted way better than the actual baked cookies.

But have to warn you.

The cookies had one severe side effect....

Cookie Coma.

But don't worry
It was totally worth it.

Spring!!

Good news everybody!!

Flowers.

On trees.

And they're pink!

I'm almost 97% sure that it's spring.

3% of me has this feeling that winter didn't get the memo.
Because it's pretty much really cold outside.

Come on winter!
Take a hint!
It's OVER.
Take your cold and your clouds and
Get OUT!

The flowers are freezing!

The lesson of Winter

Something I've noticed...
Something that's happening is this thing...
It's called:
Winter.
No matter how much vitamin D I take
(And I take a whole lotta buncha)
It's still not SUNNY!
Why did I leave California again?
I forget.
Look at this little girl.

I left this!

I could have been sitting on the beach building sand castles
Letting the sand sift through my hands
Laying there forever, just doing nothing
With this little girl.
No wait.
By myself.
I forgot, I don't actually know that girl.
shoot.
Well anyhow, I could have been all by myself on the beach....
No wait.
I forgot. I wasn't going to live at the beach.
I was going to live in some non-castle passing out hot dogs.
Ohhhh yeah....

hmmm.
Thank goodness I came back!
Even if there isn't a lot of sun or sifty sand...
there's still beaches...

and I mean

I know people.

And also...

Come on Mindy
It's SEATTLE!
It's supposed to be like this in January.
And February...
And March
Probably a little of April...

I guess winter is supposed to be like that.
That way, I remember how much I love the sun.
If it was always there I would forget that I loved it so much.
I would take it for granted.
Like I do with everything in my life.
So thank you winter.
For opening my eyes to see that the sun does not belong to me..
It's a gift

Lessons about cupcakes, and love

On Wednesday
Jennie turned 23
It was a big day....
I mean, 23 is a big deal
Jennie is a woman now.
She's a grown up.
To celebrate her transformation into this journey of adulthood, we invited over Jennie's best friend...

Poppy
As you can see
She made Jennie cupcakes.

She even let Jennie help!

After spending some time with Poppy, I realized something...
Poppy has a lot of insight and wisdom on life.

Not only did she teach us how to make delicious cupcakes...

Poppy taught us how to love.

While Jennie and I would have been content to have a party with just the three of us, Poppy saw someone who was being left out, and took the initiative to include him in our adventures.

Mister Kawits!!!

She opened right up to him and made him part of the group.

She did everything she could to make him feel comfortable.

She even took care of his medical needs.

I often overlook those in need of friends.
Recently though, the tables have turned,
And I find myself being the one in need.
And I now see how important it is to be a Poppy.

But you know...
The best part of the whole thing was...

Poppy didn't even realize how wonderful and selfless her gift of friendship was.

She simply opened her heart, and loved.

Beach house blues

I'll tell you about a little place where I live.

No. Not Seattle.

I mean, I suppose physically I do reside in Seattle...

Mentally...

I live at my beach house.

I live in a quaint little town on the shores of an imaginary beach in some other world. The weather is always exactly what it should be, and everyone is happy and life is perfect as I have allowed no space in my imaginary life for troubles or worries.

The beach house is spacious and airy, with wood floors, french doors, and a cozy couches. Every morning I sit on my porch swing and sip hot coffee with this really great guy I married until our scruffy dog begs us to walk him along the beach. We spend the afternoon working on our treehouse, where we hope to sleep on hot summer nights. There's a gazebo with twinkle lights that extends out into the water where we dance on clear nights. And every Saturday we walk down the beach to our favorite cafe and.....
Well. You get the point.
Anywho
Today was especially gloomy, so I went away to my beach house.....
And I suddenly got really sad.
Because
I realized something...
It's not real.

Dang dreams
Keep on ruining reality.