Ryan Moments

In my family, there's a phrase that we use when someone does or says something really idiotic.
It's called having a "Ryan moment."

It's all in good fun. I recognize that when you are a brunette and have as many blonde moments as I do, it makes sense to coin a phrase reserved specifically for those moments. My brother reminded me of one of the more infamous of the "Ryan moments" the other day, and I thought it was too good not to share. :)

A year or two ago, my teeny tiny hometown saw some rare excitement when someone committed a crime in the middle of the night. At a family gathering, someone (I can't remember who) was relaying the events to me. Here's how the conversation went.


Me: So what happened?

Family Member: Apparently, some teenagers stole a lawn mower in the middle of the night and then got in a wreck as they attempted to drive away. I think one of them died, actually.*

Me: How did they wreck a riding lawnmower? They don't even go very fast.


Needless to say, the entire family just died laughing at my interpretation of the events. Clearly, the teenagers had stolen a push mower and loaded it into a vehicle, and then they wrecked driving the vehicle away. I guess it was just more fun for me to envision these kids trying to make a "quick" getaway after stealing a riding lawnmower. :)

So, if YOU can think of a really funny "Ryan moment," post it in a comment below. :)


* I honestly hope no one who reads knows the person who died in the wreck. Clearly, it's very sad.

More than you wanted to know, I'm sure...

I've been compiling random tidbits about myself over the past few days. I'm sure there will be more to come.

I really love orange juice. Like REALLY. But it can't be from concentrate (because I'm apparently a citrus snob). It has to be "Simply Orange" orange juice with no pulp.

If a book is REALLY good, I'll re-read it over and over. (I've read the last Harry Potter book at least 6 times--no joke).

When I was little, my brother and I would only drink the "Citrus Cooler" flavor of Gatorade because it was Michael Jordan's favorite.

I think that certain friends fulfill specific needs in different parts of your life. And some friends last forever.

I loved to play library when I was little. I would take all of my books and stamp them with a "Ryan" stamp to check them in and out.

I'm not as oblivious as I seem. Sometimes it's easier to pretend not to understand than to face an awkward or difficult situation.

Even though I "waited" for marriage, I don't know that I could recommend it to another couple who planned on dating for several years before getting married.

I ardently wish my eyes were green.

I touch my hair a lot. I also just typed out the word "alot," even though I know that's not an actual word.

I think I'll never feel like a grown up.

I sat through four years of biology classes, and you'll still never be able to convince me that we evolved from a primordial soup. Miller's experiment was critically flawed.

Sometimes, when my puppy looks at me, I believe she understands what I'm saying to her.

I STILL glance down at my wedding and engagement rings in surprise sometimes. I can't believe I got to marry the love of my life.

I'm not a detail-oriented person. At all.

I don't really understand the purpose of paperweights in most office buildings. Unless the window is open, or the air-conditioner is on steroids, they're a serious waste of space.

There aren't a lot of desserts I'd say no to.

I believe that the best way to approach life is to live in each moment, here and now. You miss the good stuff when you're focusing on the future... or the past.

I wonder...

After all the serious/emotional things I've been posting lately, I'm just in the mood for a little frivolity. I posted something about this on facebook, but I really started thinking about it, and I think it deserves a little discussion.

Here's the question: do socially awkward people realize that they're socially awkward?

Think about it. We all think we're fairly sociable people, capable of carrying on conversation with most of society. And yet we all know people whose remarks we sometimes wish we could rewind. People who always seem to say the perfectly wrong thing at the perfectly wrong time. Something doesn't add up.

In my family, it's very clear that there's a gene floating around on some stretch of DNA that sporadically makes its way into certain chromosomes. It's the "people person" gene. Some sort of conversational blessing God gives out when He's feeling particularly generous. My dad has it. My brother has it. My Aunt Brigitte has it. They can keep a conversation flowing with anyone. They can tell funny stories. They make friends easily.

And I'm jealous. Because I definitely do not have it. It's becoming more obvious as I get older and spend more time in the professional world. I often find myself in the midst of awkward silences. Or I say something I think is funny and hear crickets chirping in response. Or I end up keeping someone on the phone way too long because I just can't shut up (Faith, I feel like I do this to you a lot).

Yet I still wouldn't consider myself a completely socially awkward person. But am I? How do you know?? Am I the girl who laughs too loud at my professor's jokes in class? Or the girl who tries way too hard to insert herself into someone else's conversation? Or, worst of all, the girl who does those things thinking I'm acting in a perfectly acceptable manner?

I'll probably never know. No one (other than my brother, and I've learned to ignore whatever he says) would dare tell me if I was. But that's okay. Micah loves me anyway. My parents love me anyway. And I'm discovering how to have an adult conversation. That's a start.

Beyond my wildest imagination...

I've been enjoying my Seasonal Bible tremendously (although I missed a few nights this weekend...gotta read double this week to catch up). But I've been going through 1 Kings, and for me, reading about Israel's continued rejection of the Lord is like watching a train wreck over and over and over.

No matter how many times the Lord, through His prophets, warned Israel to abandon its idols, or how many times the Lord struck down ungodly kings, they couldn't discern the connection between the horrible things that were happening to them and their ungodly behavior. As I read, I wondered how many times the Lord looked down on his chosen people with disappointment, wondering why they couldn't just accept His love and embrace His blessings.

And then it hit me.

How many times has the Lord looked at my life and wondered why I couldnt accept His love and embrace His blessings? Why can't we, as Christians, recognize that His plans for our lives are beyond our wildest imaginations?

If I'm being honest, I think it's because I'm so focused on the grace that God has already so liberally poured out on my life, and it's hard for me to imagine that there might be MORE. I place limits on God's ability to enrich my life, and my short-term perspective stunts my growth as a Christian. It's like I'm willing to crave fast food when God is ready to provide the most elaborate gourmet meal imaginable.

I can remember feeling absolutely shattered when I realized that my ex-boyfriend wasn't crazy about me the way that I was about him. When we decided to end things, I wondered how I would ever find someone else to care about the way that I cared about him. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I picture God shaking His head and rolling His eyes, thinking "she has NO idea of the kind of love I have in store for her." After I fell in love with Micah, I saw how superficial my feelings for Brad had been and how unsuited we were for eachother. I saw that Micah was the missing puzzle piece in my life, and that God had known what He was doing after all.

Now, as I read about the plight of Israel, I see how easy it is allow yourself to become blinded by what you perceive to be the best this world has to offer. And I am reminded that I must remember that God's got a plan. And His plan surpasses anything I could ever imagine for my life. So when I look at Micah and wonder how God could ever top such a blessing, I remind myself that my God is a big God. With big resources. Who knows what He might do if I let Him?

For my Dad...

You know that guy?

The guy who can talk to anyone. The guy who always finds a way to see the bright side? Who always has faith in people and would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it?

That's my Dad. And since I haven't had much time to blog, I didn't get to post anything about my Dad on Father's Day. So here I am, thinking about how I must have won some kind of lottery, because my Dad is honestly one of my favorite people in the whole world.

I'm not kidding when I say he can talk to anyone. I mean ANYONE. About ANYTHING. If you meet my Dad in an elevator, he's going to say hello. And he's the biggest gossip I know, which is somehow incredibly endearing.

Like his father, he thinks that duct tape can fix anything. He's incapable of telling you the exact time; if it's 5:35, he'll tell you it's 6:00. He is incredibly optimistic. I wonder where I get that from? :) He can tell you anything you need to know about Texas high school football ... or golf. He calls me almost every day. He's got a way with animals. He's a social butterfly. He loves babies more than anything in the world, and I'm pretty sure he's pissed he doesn't have grandbabies yet. He can make some out-of-this-world guacamole. He is incredibly sensitive and can't STAND it when someone is mad at him. His laugh makes funny movies even funnier. He reminds me of George Strait. He came to every basketball and volleyball game I ever played. When I needed a new car, he searched high and low for the perfect yellow mustang. When I'm sad, he makes me believe that everything is going to be okay. He's more proud of my brother and me than you can imagine. And when he saw me in my wedding dress, he cried.

I love you, Dad. I'm proud to be your daughter. Thanks for the life and the love you've given me. I'm utterly grateful.

Bring the Rain

I am sitting in front of a computer at my Mom's house with a tear-stained face. I'm staying here tonight, dog-sitting for her, and I decided to take advantage of having internet connection (my condo has none) and surf the net for awhile. I stumbled upon this blog. This God-inspired, beautfully written blog that really has touched me. I've spent the past three hours reading about this woman's struggle, being awed by her courage and her amazing faith. I'm hoping you read it, but here's a quick rundown. Her name is Angie, and she is married to one of the singers of the Christian band, Selah. During the course of her pregnancy with her fourth daughter, she discovered that her daughter hadn't developed properly. She was still alive, but she would not survive outside the womb. It was a certainty that the daughter she had hoped and prayed for would die as soon as or shortly after she was born. Though it was an incredibly difficult decision, she and her husband decided that she would carry the little girl, Audrey Caroline, to term, and they prayed for God to heal their baby, though they were at peace with the fact that He might not. I can't really convey the depth of her faith; you really need to read it for yourself. Though Audrey was born alive, she only lived about two hours before the Lord took her home.

I know it seems depressing, but my punchline here isn't Audrey's death or this God-fearing family's suffering. It's the way God provided, and continues to provide, for them. And the way that God can reveal his light, even in the dark. Thankfully, I've never had to endure even a fraction of this woman's pain and suffering. But I honestly pray that if and when God brings rain in my life, my faith will stand firm as hers has and that I can continue to praise the Lord with joy. Anyway... that's all. Everything in my life is wonderful; God continues to bless me. Living away from Micah is hard, but I'm thankful for this experience because I'm seeing even more clearly that I married a man who loves the Lord (he's relentless about making sure I'm paying tithe on the money I'm making this summer!) and who loves me in such a humbling way. How undeserving am I of such a blessing?