August 21 was our two year wedding anniversary.

I came across this poem that touched me deeply. I wanted to share it. It really speaks volumes to me where I'm at in my life right now. Maybe it'll touch you the same way.

BY MOTHER THERESA

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win somefalse friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people willforget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God,
It never was between you and them anyway...

Life Jeopardy

Yesterday Holly and I got home from a friend's house late at night, putzed around for a bit, and then I went to go to bed and read. It was just before midnight. I'd like to use the game of Jeopardy to illustrate what happened at that point.

"Alex, I'll take "Exactly What I Don't Need Right Now" for $200," I say.

Alex: "This happens after going pee at midnight at the end of a difficult and long day."

Ding ding, Emily rings in: "What is the toilet spraying water out the top, flooding the bathroom floor?"

Alex: "Absolutely correct. Next question."

Emily: "I'll take "Responses to Life Situations that are of No Use" for $200."

Alex: "Very well. Answer is, The response of a brain-fried 25 year-old woman who is watching her toilet flood her bathroom at midnight."

Ding ding, Emily: "What is wiggling hands, a girly scream, and just standing still?"

Alex: "Absolutely right! Time for final jeopardy. Category: Saving Graces at Midnight. Answer: What Stops a Toilet from Flooding the Whole House at Midnight. Emily, it's time to reveal the answer you wrote down."

Emily reveals her answer. She has written, "Your roomie comes into the bathroom at the sound of your screams and knows enough to bend down in the water and turn of the little knob that controls the water flow into the toilet."

Alex: "Absolutely correct!"

Tune in next week to play Wheel of Misfortune in the Emily Bari household...

The Gift of Meekness

I am having a doozie of a time coming to terms understanding meekness. The Lord is led me to explore meekness. But my head is getting stuck and my heart is getting frustrated. So I'd love to hear some opinions on meekness.

Point One:
Meekness is not cowardice, emotional flabbiness, lack of conviction, complacency, timidity or the willingness to have peace at any cost. It’s not simply being nice. Neither does meekness suggest indecisiveness, wishy-washiness, or a lack of confidence. The meek person is gentle and mild in his own cause, though he may be a lion in God’s cause or in defending others.

Point Two:
Meekness looks beyond circumstances — no matter how upsetting and hurtful — and bows the knee to the sovereign God realizing that everything is permitted and used by Him for our chastening, our purifying. Meekness says, "Not my will, but Yours be done." God makes His wise plans on the basis of His righteous character. He has righteous ends in mind and chooses righteous means to achieve those ends. Meekness knows that the God Who sits upon the throne of the universe is a good God. Meekness then, when faced with adversity, bows the knee. The meek individual has come to know God's character. The meek person possesses immense strength and self-control, which he exhibits in extending love rather than retaliation against those who do him evil.

Point Three:
The meek person has died to self, and he therefore does not worry about injury to himself, or about loss, insult, or abuse. The meek person does not defend himself, first of all because that is His Lord’s command and example, and second because he knows that he does not deserve defending. Being poor in spirit and having mourned over his great sinfulness, the gentle person stands humbly before God, knowing he has nothing to commend himself.

So where is the balance between being spineless and angry? I feel that is where God will lead me to discover meekness. But I admit, sometimes my own emotions scare me. "Emily," I say, "Be careful! Don't get too angry. And don't be too passive." And I end up second guessing everything.

If you have examples/verses anything to help me understand meekness, I would greatly appreciate you sharing.

I've needed to wash my car for about three weeks now. So yesterday I was a little early for a family dinner party, and I noticed a car wash where you can do it yourself with the high pressure hose. I very much prefer these types of car washes to the gas station drive-throughs. So I excitedly stopped.

I find a machine that says I can make change, only when I feed it my dollar bill, it obviously doesn't make change -- it takes your money and puts it toward a drive-through wash in another stall. Not what I wanted. So I'm out a buck.

I go into a little lobby and see two change machines. Only upon closer glance, I notice a sign that clearly says "THESE MACHINES ONLY DISPENSE TOKENS."

I go back out to the car wash stall -- it clearly says I need quarters. I go to the autowash stall - it says I need dollar bills and change. There isn't a place anywhere around the building where tokens seemed to be of use!!

It was the weirdest thing. There, in the middle of nowhere, really, I could get tokens for my money, but I couldn't get any quarters for the car wash.

The good news was that if you put in a $5 bill, you get an extra token. How you would use it, now that's a whole other issue. I bet they're shiny to stare at.

I have a love-hate relationship with Minnesota. There are so many wonderful things I love about Minnesota, but I loathe our winters. Sure, that first snowfall (sometimes as soon as October, and there have been years it happens before Halloween even arrives) holds something magical for us. As the sparkling silver-white flakes drift lazily down from a dimly lit evening sky, we feel pretty good about the upcoming season. And then we're suckered into a prison of ice and below-zero temperatures for the next five to six months. I am not a fan of living in a place where I need "good gloves" along with my "everyday gloves."

But, like I said, there are many wonderful things I love about Minnesota. And one of those things just happens to be one of our new local weathermen, Sven Sundgaard.

Ok, I actually just love his name. Sven Sundgaard. How much more Minnesotan can you get than that?

Before working for a Minneapolis Station, he worked in the charming town of Duluth, Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior. I still remember the first time I saw him on television: "We'd now like to introduce you to Sven Sundgaard from Duh-looth, Minnesota."

Ahh, my dear Scandinavian homeland. At least I wasn't eating a hotdish while watching Sven tell me about the cold front moving in. That would be just a little too Minnesohtahn.

By the way, my infatuation with the name Sven Sundgaard is not to be confused with my infatuation with actor Peter Sarsgaard's name. When I say Sven's name, I must also add, "He's from Duh-looth." When I say Peter, I must "Arr!" like a pirate. If only Peter was from Minnesota. Then I could say, "Peter SAAARSgAAARd from WillmAAR, Minnesota!"

I received a couple kind notes as of recent in my e-mail lately (along the lines of "where are you?!") so I decided to log on and was quite surprised by the number of people keeping tabs on me. I'm touched. I had no idea.

There is no scandal about where I've been -- it's been a beautiful summer in Minnesota, and I'm just using this season of my life to learn more about myself and who I am. Yes, for a long time I've been dreading this season of my life, but there is a time for everything. It's been a long lesson in learning to Let Go and Let God!! But everyone goes through these times no doubt. So sorry for the delay in blogging. I didn't realize I had so many concerned friends!

A little recap of where I've been ...

1. I watched a Little League game on a terrifically gorgeous summer evening. The boy I was cheering on hit a triple. The sunset was amazing. I played with his younger sister in the dirt. Being around children has been good for my soul.
2. My other friend had a preemie baby -- the little princess now has colic. My heart goes out to you if you have had a baby with colic. My goodness. But to watch this little baby grow bigger over the weeks has been nothing short of a miricle.
3. I now have a roomie - Holly moved in with me. What a blessing. We make great room mates. It's fabulous to have her delicious company until Dan comes back.
4. I went to a summer BBQ in Sleepy Eye, MN and spent some time with my step-grandparents in Blue Earth. There's something idealic about spending time in small towns and the country. I sat on the deck in the sunshine a heat and heard nothing but neighbors playing croquet. The next day we grilled pork chops at a summer BBQ and had a massive potluck and people played volleyball and horseshoes...
5. Been to three funerals in two weeks. Life is short.
6. Started reading a great book: Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey. Love books. Love bookstores.
7. Started a small prayer group of female friends in my home. What a rich experience that has been. I never grow tired of learning more about prayer.

On that note, I appreciate your prayers for Dan and me. What a blessing.

I now have some work I must get to, but I wanted people to stop worrying... I'll try to put something short up more regularly again. Much love to all of you.

Time is a gift that I have a hard time embracing. Hopefully that will change soon.

Most days I cannot wait for time to pass - the day, the week, the month. But suddenly last night I was left again with an all-too familiar feeling, "Another day is over? What did I do today?" I get work done, but then I somehow just get pulled where other people want me, doing things I don't really want to do, and forgetting what I'm passionate about.

I realized I haven't been wearing my watch for a month. My mindset has been so stuck on "Just get through this" that really valuable time is passing -- my highest goal is just to hang in there?!? I think that calls for some adjustments. God thinks so, too. Yesterday, after some prayer time, the Spirit inspired me to make a list of Things I Like to Do, Things I Would Like to Do/Learn, What I Don't Like to Do That's Taking Up Too Much Time, and Who I Like to Spend Time With. After I made the lists, I took an honest look at my life to see if my priorities are actually matching up with my actions.

This is what I came up with:

Things I Like to Do:

• Photography
• Writing
• Go for walks/running
• Read
• Swim in lakes and pools
• Eat out
• Taste Wines
• Go to movies
• Small group Bible studies
• Flowers/gardens
• Local events
• Write cards/letters to friends and Dan and send packages

What Would I like to do more of/learn to do?

• Make jewelry
• Simply get outside more
• Develop my book
• Start a small prayer group in our home
• Try new restaurants
• Shop flea markets
• Small road trips/traveling (like to Stillwater)

What Don't I Like to Do That's Taking Up Too Much Time?

• Organize!! I'm constantly in need of organization lately
• I feel too tied down to my apartment computer. Need to get out with laptop more often.

And then I made a list of the people I would like to spend more time with. It's my goal to be intentional about spending time with them now...

I'm really interested in seeing what your lists would be: what you like to do currently, what you wish you did more of/learned to do, what don't I like to do that's taking up too much time. If you have a comment, please leave it. But I would like to tag Sandra and Courtney to tell me their lists...