Unplugged

Kelly: A few nights ago, Holly and I were once again talking about the fact that technology seems to be taking over the world. The view were tackling with this post is technology and face-time with friends. I'll share a story. Over Christmas break, a friend of ours invited us to have lunch. We shared some brief conversations and catch-ups since it had been about 7 months since we had last seen each other. After about 10 minutes of conversing, she got her phone out as she had received a text from someone. Meanwhile, mine and Holly's phones were on silent and in our purses. This texting conversation with...whoever (she didn't tell us who it was) continued for the majority of the meal. Now let's bring this back; how would you feel? The impression I was getting from her was that she didn't want to be there, and I really didn't want to be there. It just felt awkward. I remembered the times we would just laugh and be stupid and stay up till 1 in the morning talking about stupid stuff without cell phones getting in the way.

Now please don't misunderstand me. I am NOT against cell phones! I sometimes feel very out of place when I don't have mine, especially when I make my 40 minute commute to work. Yet sometimes I feel really happy and relieved when I forget to leave mine off for most of the day. I think they're great; they're the only way I can get in touch with my parents back in Ohio. It's just a major pet peeve of mine that some people I know seems they can't even function if they're phone isn't right there. It's another pet peeve of mine when I'm with a group of friends and everyone but me is on their phone talking/texting researching God knows what or God knows who. What ever happened to unattached and unchained actual face to face time with people? Seems like it's a lost art these days.

Holly: It really baffles me just how wrapped up our society has become on viewing the world through a small screen.  Earlier in the week I was grumbling about how I had to charge my cell phone again (I turn mine off at night), and I mentioned to a co-worker that I usually have to charge my phone 1-2 times a week.  He was shocked; he said "That's not a lot."  No, it's not.  With the exception of texts to Kelly, random texts here and there and random phone calls to home, my cell phone does not get much use.  It drove me crazy in college when my friends would moan and groan about how little sleep they got because people were texting them all night.  Um...how about you turn your phone off?  "Oh gosh no, I could never do that!" was usually the reply.  Well then....kwitchawhining.  I know it's blunt and I know it's rude, but you CAN turn your phone off every now and then.

Something else that baffles me is Face Time.  Ok, really? You are not having a conversation with someone's face...you are having a conversation with someone's face ON A SMALL SCREEN.  Face time, to me, is actually sitting across the way at someone's FACE.  I'm all about keeping in touch...but really?  I ride a shuttle from UK stadium to campus, and every morning and afternoon, about 90% of the passengers are just attached and totally absorbed in their phones.  Most days I crave face-to-face conversation. although, sadly, I now prefer to text rather than call (I'm working on that...).  Seriously, though.  Put the phone down, look out the window, put some music on, or God forbid actually have a conversation with the person sitting next to you (This has happened to me on numerous occasions and it always brings a smile to my face).

In about a week or so Kelly and I are going to be getting smartphones.  I really hope we don't become one of "those" people.  But here's my guarantee: whenever I meet with you, for whatever reason, my phone will be away and on silent, unless it's an emergency.  I believe one of the most important things we can give someone is our time; let's shoot for 100%.  We owe it to those we care about.

Let's try to unplug ourselves a little more each day...

Debunking the stigmas

Holly: It's not much of a surprise that society tends to put people into "boxes".  You have your haves and have-nots, your loners and social butterflies, your twenty-somethings and your elderly, your single people and your couples...you get the idea.  Then there's us.  We're more on the "haves" side of things, we fit somewhere in between loner and social butterfly, we're both single, and we're both in our 20s.  We're also Christians.

I've seen a lot of stigmas associated with being a Christian.  I'm sure you have too.  "Christians don't know how to have fun."  (Whatever that means, anyway.  I guarantee my definition of "fun" and your definition are totally different).  "Christians think everyone's going to hell."  "Christians only listen to Christian music and don't watch movies with swearing or sex or any of that stuff."  "Christians are so hypocritical."  "Christians don't drink or smoke or any of that." "Christians are so judgmental."  "Christians think everything is BAD!" You get the idea, right?

I'm going to debunk ALL of these by saying that they're all full of crap.  Last night, Kelly and I went and saw "The World's End" in theaters.  I will be the first to say that it's filthy.  There's a lot of bad language and a lot of inappropriate-ness.  However, we saw it anyway.  Why? Because it's JUST A MOVIE.  It's not like Kelly and I are going to suddenly embark on a mile-long pub crawl.  No.  And that's where I debunk all of these stigmas.  Movies, tv shows, books, etc, things that are "questionable" are merely in this world for the sole purpose of entertainment.  It's just a movie.  It's just a book.  They're not real.  There's a quote from Facing the Giants in which someone asks "So you think God cares about football?"  The rebuttal is that God cares about our faith.  We can indulge in a totally stupid and funny 2 hour movie and keep our integrity in check.  Watching a movie is not a sin.  As for music...give me Mumford and Sons any day of the week.

Kelly: I remember at the first church I attended when I was about 8 years old. As you all know, Harry Potter had just come out and was starting to get well known. Holly and I were in our Sunday School class and our Sunday School teacher was very anti-Harry Potter because of the magic, witchcraft and wizardry that obviously happens. She blatantly said that Harry Potter was a sin. I remember going home and being very upset because I was thinking about reading it but because of what she said I didn't. Maybe that's why we waited so long to read them...anyway.

Last night, like she said, Holly and I enjoyed an R rated movie. I also have been known to enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage. (Bear in mind I said OCCASIONAL). I think what it just boils down to is ignorance. Just because we carry the name of Christ doesn't mean we're these sheltered, Bible-thumping fire and brimstone kind of people. No. When I was in Scotland 2 summers ago, I was the oldest in my apartment and my roommates were into that kind of party scene that included bar-hopping and the such. I am not really into that. Never have been. I remember I was in the kitchen making dinner and after repeatedly declining their invitations one girl asked me if I was a Christian. I said that I was. She then asked "oh so you don't drink because you're a Christian?" I'm going to use a Martin Freeman picture again to express my frustration then and now.

Again, I think it just boils down to ignorance. It's frustrating. So if anyone out there asks me how I spent my weekend, please please PLEASE do not gasp and be all flabbergasted if I reply that I went and had a drink with my friends. I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with alcohol and R-rated movies. It's just if we let the drinking go farther than our limits and we start behaving in the way that R-rated movies sometimes are, then that in my opinion is when they can become problematic. Yet again there's another struggle, because today's culture is immersed with this type of behavior ALL the time. More often than not these types of behaviors are just casual, brushed off with "oops it just happened" or "oh it's ok. I'll clean up better next time." Now I ain't trying to preach, but it seems to me that the line between right and wrong has been so blurred in the past few years or so. And let's face it, our society has become so accepting of basically just a "doing it your way" type of lifestyle. Hey, that's great and all, but in my world living for myself is too small a thing to live for. God made me as the person that I am today; I think I owe it to Him to take care of this vessel He made in me. He's built something in my head that started young, because I've never been one to follow with what is "right" in today's world. So in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy what I enjoy and live my best for God. That's all any of us can do really. 

The Two Greatest Commandments

Kelly: A few nights ago, Holly and I were having an interesting conversation, as is the starter of the majority of these blog posts. As you all know, we are followers of Christ, or at least we claim to be. By the way, if you see or hear us acting not in such a manner, please let us know. Sometimes we are not aware of our own words or actions, am I right? Anyway, in Matthew Jesus answers the question what the two greatest commandments are. Simple. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul mind and strength. The second is like it; love your neighbor as yourself. In today's world, it seems to me we need to go back to basics with the latter.

I've heard before ad nauseum, especially from these other "churches" who say "we love God and He is our Savior, but you all are burning to hell because of xyz." Yes, I'm talking about the latest people population that has been targeted; gays. Now please don't misunderstand me, I am in no way shape or form discriminating against anyone who is gay. In fact, some of my friends are gay and I love them dearly. The question that Holly and I posed while we were having this conversation is can you love God without loving other people? ALL people? My answer? No. I don't think you can. Jesus didn't discriminate against ANYONE, therefore we shouldn't either, whether or not you claim to carry the name Christian. If one is selective about who they want to show love to, then in my opinion you're missing the message that Jesus was trying to carry. But it's not just the gay population that is being targeted, no. Again, like I said, I feel like the world needs to go back to basics. I think some people have just forgotten how to simply be nice. I was reading on Yahoo! news that this family received a letter stating that their mentally challenged young son was a disgrace to their neighborhood and that the parents were shameful for letting him play outside.

Ironically, Holly and I viewed Lee Daniel's The Butler this evening. There was one line that President Kennedy (as portrayed by James Marsden) is watching the TV and footage of African Americans being relentlessly beaten on the streets. He sinks his face in his hands and says "I can't believe that this is my country." Sadly, this is what our country was and unfortunately what our world is becoming. Ya'll, this is the point I'm trying to say; it doesn't matter what your views are on Christianity, gay rights, etc. Just show some common courtesy to ANYONE you meet. You don't know what they're going through.

Holly: We love because He first loved us.  ~1 John 4:19

Jesus dying for the sins of the world on the cross- how much more of a powerful way can you say "I love you?'  He also makes very clear the two commandments: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.  Nowhere is there any subtext that says love your neighbor as yourself....EXCEPT if he's gay, black, weird, pink, straight, yellow, male, female, a dog....NO.  There are no exceptions.  Period.

I've mentioned this in a post or two previously, but I think love just goes beyond love.  I believe love also comes with acceptance.  Jesus loves who we are, everything about us, flaws and all.  I don't think you can love somebody without accepting all of them.  Now that goes without saying that you don't have to fully adopt their lifestyle choices- no.  That's not it at all.  But stay open-minded and be respectful.  Eventually you look past all the things that originally turned you off from them and you see them for who they really are; a child of God, a living, breathing human being.  If you really think about it, when you boil everything down, we are all essentially the same.  We are all created in the image of God.  I know I need to remember this when I yell at the questionable drivers I encounter on a daily basis (I have terrible road rage).

I'm caught thinking of Westboro Baptist Church.  This is an institution that is supposed to be proclaiming the love of Christ.  Instead, they spread nothing but utter hate and ignorance and oppose anything that threatens their little box full of blasphemy that they've sadly put themselves in.  They absolutely refuse to listen to any reason whatsoever and they believe they are perfectly valid.  I do not consider them a church.  I do not consider their members to be Christians.  Heck, I don't even know if the life I'M living will be considered Christian when I am judged by God at the end of my earthly life.  But it's spelled out as clear as day: we are called to love.  And I'm doing my best to do just that.  Please let me know if you see me doing otherwise.

Happy (belated) birthday blog!!!!

Holly: Ladies and germs, we are totally stoked to announce that yesterday (August 20th...we're a day late, ya know.  Jobs and stuff) was the 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAUNCH OF THIS BLOG!!!!!!!! :D *insert cheesy applause*

It still amazes me that it's still going strong.  We recently launched it on Facebook and, personally, I love sharing our posts there.  Facebook is a great platform.  But once again, we're not concerned about how many followers we have, how many comments we get- we just love writing and sharing life with people.  So if you like what you read, great.  If you want to leave a comment, great.  If not, we're going to keep writing, even if we just keep writing into nothingness.  

Life has changed for me so much in just the past month alone that I simply am beyond eager to see where this time next year will bring me.  I thank God every day for what I have.  I dearly appreciate all of you who do follow along with us on this crazy journey called life.  So keep having your coffee dates, keep seeking the joy in your life, keep praying, keep having faith, keep laughing, smiling, breathing, living! :)

Kelly: In 2 year's time, we both have graduated from college, moved twice, met Colin and Brad, got into Lord of the Rings and Sherlock, went through 3 roommates, adopted two cats, lost a friend (not by death but by other choices), lost our Grandpa, had a slew of jobs and downfalls and now have landed full-time (well...sort of for me) jobs and a lot of goodies in between.

WOW!!!!

It's surreal and amazing at how fast the time goes. Really. It's incredible! Like Holly said, we've done this for the last two years not to get "fans" or likes, to gain readers as fast as we can or ask for a slew of comments and shares. No. We do this for us and all of you! It has been our goal for us to discuss a topic so that someone out there can read it and say "yes! I've been there" or "well, not exactly, but this is what I think about it." The comments, views, shares and likes don't matter to us at all! I must say, it has been a blast looking back what has gone on in our lives the past 2 years. The growths, challenges and developments we have gained has been nothing other. We are humbled and blessed that there are many of you going on this journey with us! Thank you all so much for ANOTHER year! Here's to two more and many to come!

August 2011: Taken shortly after publishing our very first post.

August 2012: Taken one year exactly after the publication of our very first post.

August 2013: Taken 2 years and one day exactly after publication of first post.  We look sleepy :]

What we are thankful for.

Kelly: In Sunday School this morning, at the end of our class, we were asked to write down some things that we are currently thankful for. This is what we both wrote (mine's short because we ran out of time). I have more and MANY more things that I am so thankful for, but this is just what I wrote down:

*God, *My Bible, *Family, *Friends, *my relationship with Christ, *church, *my job, *my co-workers, *my house, *my health, *my cats, *my car, *love, *food, *my church family, *open-mindedness, *cleanliness, *my phone, *my patients I care for, *hope in Christ, *joy, *being positive, *optimism, *perseverance, *healing, *grace.

Holly: I actually managed to write down 30 things, although there could have been so many more.  I just wrote these as they came to me.  Blessings are all around! Take the time to seek them out and enjoy them! :)

*God *my relationship with Christ *my relationship with Kelly *family, Mom and Dad *my friends *my job at UK *my job at Old Navy *Yoda and Wiley *my car *my apartment *the power of music *coffee *Berea Baptist Church *church choir *my Berea support network *H and K Chronicles *sharing life with people *the hard times in my life *the power of prayer *reading *Lord of the Rings *sleep *nature *clothes I love and feel good in *the Bible and how it speaks to me *love *joy *laughter *my personality and enthusiasm *our Europe trip in 2 years

There's always hope

Holly: Life has majorly turned for me in just a few days.  It's amazing the kind of transformations that can occur in one's life, even in such a short amount of time.  A week ago today I received a phone call: the full-time job I applied for back in May was being offered to me.  It's in my field, it's not teaching (something I have no desire to do....right now, anyway.  Things change), the pay is decent, and it's at UK, somewhere I have great experiences with.  I'm three days in and I just can't help but think: This! Is this what I've been missing?

Up until a week ago, I was working two jobs.  One was in the pathology department at UK, pulling slides for physicians and faculty and getting mail.  It was 15 hours a week and I made just a tad over $8/hour.  Looking back on it now, it's ridiculous; I was driving almost an hour each way, working for three hours a day, then coming home.  There were many days in which I could only put $10 or $15 in my gas tank just to GET to work each day.  Please don't misunderstand me; it was not in vain, by any means.  Even though the hours and pay were so-so, I was filling large shoes in such a short amount of time, and I was often thanked and praised for doing the work I did (Which, let me also say, that's not what I was in it for, although the thanks and recognition were definitely nice).  I enjoyed the people in the department as well.  But I was barely scraping by, to say the least.  My second job is at Old Navy; I'm still there now.  But since I was spending so much on gas already, driving to UK's campus, I cut back to weekends only at ON.  Most Saturdays and Sundays I worked only 4.5ish hours a day.  When it's all said and done, altogether, between 2 jobs, I was making just about $200 a week.  I spend that much on my share of rent once a month.  So yeah.  Things were tight.  Really tight.  Like, losing-sleep-over-potentially-overdrafting-and-not-being-able-to-pay-bills/student loans-rent tight.  Literally sick to my stomach with worry.  I was envious of others.  I would walk past employees in the hospital and would literally think to myself: Yep, they don't have to worry about money.  Yes, I'm serious.  I drove myself mad over this.  Let me say this: it is not God's will for us to worry!  He wants us to trust Him.  This has taken many, many years and sleepless nights to get to this.

I looked over my journal recently.  My worries about money have spanned years.  Yes, you read this correctly.  YEARS.  And now, I feel all those worries just disappearing.  God has tremendously blessed me with this job; it's more than enough to meet my needs and then some.  He wants us to trust Him.  He wants us to have hope.  I know there are some of you who are reading this and are going through the same struggles, or perhaps different ones.  Please, please, please, please, PLEASE...don't give up.  I know it's hard.  God doesn't leave you, even when He feels millions of miles away.  He WILL provide, even if He just takes you somewhere else.  And if you don't believe in God, then I believe.  I believe in you.  I believe in the power of lives being changed in an instant.  It happens.  Let our stories encourage you.  Have hope.  Have faith.  I know it's a terrible cliche, but things do get better.  I'm a firm believer of that.  We were all put on this earth for a reason, for a purpose.  All will be revealed in time.  Just hold on!

Even darkness must pass.

Kelly: Sometimes, like now, I wonder "why me?" What did I do to deserve what I got? What I have? Why is it that I am blessed so greatly yet there are those who I know and don't know that are struggling severely with a given situation? It's God. I'm not trying to convert those of our followers who don't believe in Christ, rather I'm just sharing my own experiences and what He has done for me and through me! But if I can say anything, it's just hang in there. Believe! Believe in something or someone! I believe in Christ; what about you?

After I graduated from Berea and prior to getting offered my current job was a period of about 3 months. I can say without a doubt those were some of the darkest days of my life. I'm certain I experienced some sort of depression. I turned into someone I did not recognize. I was hurt, sad, lonely and angry. There were some days I dreaded getting out of bed in the morning, because I know I'd have to face another day of not hearing anything from a job, or logging onto my computer and checking my gmail account because I know there would be a job rejection or two, or turning on my cell phone and receiving no voice mails asking for a call back or to schedule an interview. I cried myself so many nights to sleep, begging God to just get me through one more day. My insides curled with anger when Holly would leave for work and I'd sit on the couch and bid her good-bye, then when she came home I'd say anything just to pick a fight. Just to have a reason to vent and blow off steam. I'd go to Walmart or Walgreens to get something just to find an excuse to get out of the house. A time or two I remember having the conversations, wondering how in the world we were going to pay next month's rent or make ends meet. I'm telling you; I've felt like I was in the dark. It sucks. It HURTS. But as famously quoted in The Two Towers; "even darkness must pass." And it did. It does.

So this is for those of our readers and followers (or someone who just happened to stumble upon this) who are struggling and going through whatever hurt or struggle they're going through. Hold onto those close to you; don't push them away. I shared a part of my story because I've felt strongly to do so for quite some time now. Someone out there is feeling the way I felt, and they don't know what to do. Please, whoever you are, please don't give up. I was about ready to throw in the towel and move back to Ohio when I got the call for my dream job. God is NOT giving up on you; He didn't give up on me. Now whether or not you reader or readers believe in God is entirely your choice, but I found my hope. I found hope in God; the one and only! There is someone or something that is keeping you going, whether or not you know it.

I lift up my eyes into the mountains; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord; the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)

Asking the question "Why?"

Kelly: Earlier today, Holly and I were at our favorite coffee joint having a conversation that carried over from one that started this morning. I was reading on a website I like called Makes Me Think where people post their thought-provoking stories. Some of them are sad, funny, and mostly very inspiring. A few weeks ago, I read a story where a young lady was at her wedding when she was in the food line and her 10-year old cousin was in front of her. It mentioned that the food was a buffet style, but the 10-year-old said she didn't want to eat anything because that's how she would stay "skinny and pretty." 10 years old. Just let that sink in. I remember not too long ago I was taking my roommate to the grocery store, and I was in a t-shirt and sweat pants. This was on a Sunday, because after I got home from church I took my nice clothes off and put on those. She asked me why I did that. I had never really been asked that before, so I replied that I just wanted to be comfortable and that I really don't like dressing up...which is true. She then said that she was more self-conscious than us because she said "I would never go out like that." Which is fine. It's all fine. Some people are like that, and that's fine with me.

As most of you all know, Holly and I have continued to maintain our healthy eating/walking habits for a little over a year now. The improvements we have seen and felt in ourselves have been excellent! For my new job I had to take a new employee physical; to be honest I was a bit disappointed when I saw that my weight had gone up a bit from the last time. But after this morning's conversation, I was much happier. I'm still at a healthy weight for my age and height. I'm continuing to feel good and feel better about the way I look; I found myself perusing bikinis at Old Navy yesterday, thinking that I would probably look ok in one. I guess the point I'm trying to drive in is that we didn't do these changes to get back into bikinis; we did them because they were doable and we wanted to just be healthier. I am so thankful that God has brought us this far and has gotten us to the point where we are comfortable with the way we look. So what if I'm not in a size 2? I don't WANT to be in a size 2; I just want to use the body that God has blessed me with and make it a bit healthier. Life is too short. But for some people out there, that's what they want. They want to be "skinny and pretty." I just want to be happy with the way I look, and I am.

Holly: My message to the female population is this: STOP OBSESSING.  Just stop it.  It's not healthy!  You are beautiful the way you are.  Seriously.  Please stop.  It breaks my heart to see so many beautiful women beating themselves up over one mistake, one pound they didn't lose, one season in which they weren't "bikini ready", one extra snack they had in the day, etc.  Instead of focusing on where we could be, how about focusing on where we are now?  

I remember back when my clothes first started fitting a little looser, I immediately found myself in that mindset; that mindset of "oh, how much can I lose?  How far can I go?  What do I need to do to keep losing, keep losing, keep losing?" I truly believe if our main goal is just  losing weight, then you're setting yourself up for failure.  Be realistic.  Focus on being healthier...the rest just comes naturally!  Trust me on this one.

I bought a couple pairs of shorts yesterday.  They are a size 8.  I haven't been in single size pants since high school.  I'm not going to lie, I did do a little happy dance in the fitting room.  If you thank God for who you are, who He has created you to be, and for where He has brought you to, it all just comes naturally.  We discussed this in an earlier post...this one, to be exact.  That's why I do what I do.  That's why we do this blog.  We don't do it to keep gaining followers, we don't dig through mounds and mounds of sources to try to tweak it, we don't go out of our way to build our reach.  No, we do it because, almost 2 years ago, God laid it on us, and we just enjoy sharing life with people.  I don't need validation  in the form of a typed comment or a new reader to know that people read what we write, because I've had numerous conversations, face-to-face conversations, from people saying they enjoy what we write.  If you want to chime in, great.  If not, well then, we're going to keep writing.  No snot off our noses.  And that's why I continue these healthier changes.  Yeah, don't get me wrong, it's great to see the physical changes, and to receive compliments, but in the end, I just give it all back to God.  Our bodies were designed for Him!!!!  I think it hurts Him when He hears us ragging on and on about how we constantly want to fix something about ourselves that we don't like.  Just think about that the next time you wake up with a large zit on your forehead, or you skipped your workout, or you gained an extra pound.