Onions and Pineapples

I feel like my life lately has been much like an onion. Layers have been stripped away. You think that you're done and there are more layers to go. I bought an onion about 2 weeks ago. It's like the ever lasting onion. It's made it's way into sandwiches, salads, stirfrys, and quesidilla's. There is still a bit more to go. For me it's been a stripping, a revealing and an unmasking. I feel like my true and false self's are in a sparring match and very sharp pruning scissors are the weapon of choice. But it's freeing, scary, painful, exposing and wonderful all at once.

I feel like my life lately is like a pineapple. Beautiful and intriguing to look at, a little tricky and prickly to handle and impossible to really enjoy unless you cut off the top layer. It's underneath the other exterior that you get the sweetness and the true taste of the pineapple.

There is something about unmasking that makes the falsehood not so appealing anymore. We can carry around an onion and pineapple all day everyday, but it's in the peeling back the layers and the cutting off of the exterior that causes us to enjoy them for the ways they were created to be enjoyed.

Grilled for both is my favorite...

Blame it on the Rain...

I woke the other morning slightly depressed. Here it is June and it's still cold and rainy! I had been under the illusion that summer in Vancouver meant gorgeous clear blue skies, warmer weather, colorful flowers, green grass and an even better view of the mountains. Well, I was wrong, except for the colorful flowers and green grass. They are still beautiful even despite the rain.
It's just not the kinda weather that a girl who grew up in Florida is just not used to. I'm used to blue skies in the morning, a torrential thunderstorm around 3o'clock in the afternoon and a sunny, slightly muggier evening.
But alas, I pulled myself out of bed, went down stairs and as I ate breakfast I began a rather interesting scripture study on, you guessed it, rain.

Rain in scripture is used to describe the Lord's blessing and destruction. It's used to describe the way His word and Spirit are poured out upon his people. In proverbs rain is used to describe a nagging wife...I certainly never want to be like dripping rain to my husband!
When rain falls crops are produced, when rain ceases crops die. It's all about rain. Reading through each of these scriptures gave me a new perspective on the rain that was falling outside my window. It is because there is so much rain that the Pacific Northwest, especially British Columbia, is as beautiful as it is.
So, after this brief run through of the Word, I decided to get off my butt and into my rain gear. They say that you can't let the rain in Vancouver stop you from doing what you want to do. I went for a brief walk and took pictures of my favorite things...rain drops on roses they say is a favorite! My goal is to make a whole album dedicated to rain, this is just the beginning...



Of course, like I said before, rain can also bring destruction...at least it did on our back patio and into the guys house below. Craziness! Imagine waking up with a puddle in your bed from this...

At least we are getting a new back deck out of the deal. Chris, the guy downstairs, is having to sleep on the couch but soon will have a nice new room. Our Landlord, Kitty, is the best!

Life...

It's amazing how quickly time can fly by. It feels like yesterday I arrived and now to realize I've been here 7 weeks feels so surreal. I know I haven't written in a while, it's not because there aren't a million fun and excited things happening. But there is life happening. Class, reading, researching, taking the bus, buying groceries,hanging out, sleeping...all of it goes by so quickly.
I want to live each moment, savor and drink in each minute of everyday. I wish I could put things in slow motion, but I can't. But what I can do is enjoy the present as the gift that it is.
I promise to write more, but right now I need to run and pick up a few things for dinner...oh, how I LOVE date night :)