Well, We Still have the Machete...

The power of love...
as evidenced by a Haitian brown taratula named Zarry

Zarry (long "A", like star) had a long and wonderful like in the mountains of Haiti near Pignon.  He crawled around and ate crickets and such.  He particularly liked to hang out in, on, and around human showers.  He made his way into a container bound for Iowa where he lived happily with his human & canine family until he drew his last breath on January 25th, 2011 at 4:43pm CST.

His legacy of love as I see it:

-  He drew a group of missionaries together (and in hard moments pointed out their failings).

-  He was a daily reminder of my Christian family at United Christians international.  It makes laugh to picture Kerri trying to teach me the Creole word for spider: "Zar-en-yen... oh nevermind, just call him Zarry" :)

-  He made airport security laugh (something I've never seen anything accomplish in my whole life).

-  He was a really neat gift for a loving husband who waited two weeks for me to get home last August.

-  I've been able to witness my husband's care and reverence for another living creature and that's been  pretty darn cool.  From a shotgun trip to Des Moines to get Zarry all the bells and whistles a fancy terrarium can provide, to weekly trips to Oskaloosa to get live crickets.  My husband is the most wonderful man on earth.  Even before we disposed of the body he said "well, a plastic bag isn't what he deserves, but it's all we have" I fell in love with him all over again.  Now he just keeps saying "poor Zarry".  I love him!

Bondye Beni Ou (God bless you)!

Style Once was Everything

There once was a girl who was very into fashion, fitness, and beauty.  She never took this to the level of crazy that many women do, but it still took some precedence in her life.  She enjoyed her youth, her figure, and her taste in all things "refined".  Then she entered the real world.  The world where room and board are not covered.  The world where extra hours at work trump time at the gym.  Her youth went by the wayside.  It was a slow ascent.  It was the sort of climb where you don't even know you are climbing.  Rather, day-by-day, life marched on.  One thing led to another.  The fog slowly lifted and there she stood on new ground.  It was the winter of 2011 and she needed a new suit for work.  She realized she was nearly 30.  She lived in a small town (no place to find a suit in a jiff).  She had life committments (no funds for worsted wool).  She had let herself go (her size 6-8 wardrobe wouldn't fit around her ankle).  Then suddenly, like a Mack truck from hell she found herself in Marshalltown, IA (the epitome of the most drab place on earth) at a JC Penny (the epitome of the least fashionable place on earth) purchasing not only off-the-rack, but CLEARANCE women's suiting made of polyester (oh the horror) in not a size 6, 8, or even 10... but a size 16.

Life as we know it was over.  The girl died.

This "Intensive" Life

Time to hunker down now!  I am in seminary!  This surreal experience is now real.  I have been on campus for "intensives" for one of two weeks.  All of the classmates I have been interacting with online for six weeks now have real faces, emotions, stories, & thoughts.  Moreover, I have a student ID with my name and picture on it.  If that doesn't make it all real, then I don't know what does.

Here is what has genuinely surprised me so far:

-  I like my classmates, & I think they like me.
-  You have to know quite a bit about English to learn Biblical Hebrew (what the heck is third person/masculine/plural anyway?  and, can you tell me what the definite article is?)
-  I thought the hardest thing about being away from home, would be being away from home.  Class is actually quite challenging and in fact sitting in class all day is a lot of work... I find myself saying "my brain hurts" & "I'm really exhausted" to my husband on the phone a lot.  Also, after having learned for eight hours, I feel my need for solitude and nothingness louder than ever before and can't figure out how my classmates are going home to study some more.
-  There are lots of people here who don't agree with me on things I thought were rather standard.
-  We at the Reformed Theological Seminary are not all Reformed.
-  I have found lots more needed affirmation than I anticipated and feel very supported (my peer group rocks).
-  I sincerely like this and am hopeful for my future :)

Being Aware of your Family History is Important Because...

Being aware of your family history is important for a lot of reasons, but I've learned along the way that it is less important than people will have you think.  I don't know as much about my history as some do.  It is a blessing that most of my friends have and don't even realize.  Lot's of times people just think it is "normal".  For a long time I yearned for this sort of "normal".  Then I realized that this quest only kept me in bondage and away from my savior, it hurt those around me, especially my family, and the zealousness of my own quest kept me from my own true blessings.

From the time I was born to the age of about 16 I thought that my family was crazy in it's own right, but that I at least had a sort of "normal" (mom, dad, brother).  It came to light in a rather traumatizing fashion that the father I had grown up with is not my biological father.  At the tender age of 16 that knowledge sent me into a tailspin.  My whole life had been a lie.  I had a ton of decisions to make.  Looking back, I didn't really get them right, but I have since learned.  I started hounding my mom for answers, disassociating myself from my dad, searching for a birth father, and trying to find answers.

I realize now, that what I really needed to learn about was my own heart.  You see, it is important to know your family history.  Learning about them and the choices they have made have helped me to have grace and kindness in my interactions with them.   For example, knowing how my grandparents felt having a pregnant teenager, how my mom felt as a scared teenager, and how my dad felt wanting his parentage to be true all play into my story.  Seeing them all in this way has opened me up to a much deeper relationship.  I would encourage you all to learn about your parents and their parents, and on down the line.  Once I let go of the hurt and anger, I was also able to experience a much deeper relationship with my family members.  I was also able to give myself to God.  He knows my name and He knows my heart.  Early on it was hard to give myself to Him, feeling like I didn't know who I was.  Eventually the things of this world became less important.

As it stands I am 29, I have a wonderful relationship and friendship with my mother.  I am able to be a part of my dad's life with his new wife and children.  I am loved by God and dedicate my life to His service.  What more do I need know? 

The things of real value in my life have been...

So the thought of the evening is: what has brought real value to my life? I ready myself to answer this question after having checked my Facebook, then my Gmail, to answer a survey prompt from Molton Brown promising a free $36 bottle of body wash (with online purchase). I then selected what I would like to buy, put it in my cart, reveled at my would be "savings" (a whole free bottle of the finest body wash money can buy!) and then closed the page without a transaction. I'm not sure why I like to do this strange thing (select what I want, put it in the virtual cart, smile at what would be, and then smile more about not doing it). It certainly is not what brings value to my life. It is a time waster, but golly am I able to remeber my fine time traveling Europe, marvel at my ability to recognize a truly superior product (I love the scent "Thai Vert" if you ever need to prove your love to me), experience the rush of "saving", and then ultimately get my "high" from walking away with one flick of my right index finger.

For a time, fine things that I could not afford really did bring a sort of "value" to my life (the actual purchasing of, not just virtual). However, those very things ruined me, and really kept me from the truth. The truth is not only does God love me, I should love me. I only thought I neeeeeded those things. My clothing could be Valentino or Faded Glory, God doesn't care and thankfully neither do my friends, and now thankfully and by God's grace neither do I. It took me a long time to let go of this part of my identity, and I'm still working on it to be honest. I can now say that while I really get some serious kicks from my yearly Ikea trip, I don't have the heart to drop my lifes work on a bottle of soap (... call it fine hand wash all you want, it's just soap). After time spent in impoverished places, the necessity of just plain soap trumps the value of the finest stuff around.

Here is my inconclusive list of MVT's (Most Valuable Things):
- Family as in my husband and my dogs (both like to step on me or poke me while I am trying intently to watch "the Good Wife", both would leave a BP oil spill sized gush if they were missing)
- Family as in birth family (cliche...yes, often annoying...yes, of immeausurable depth & support...yes)
- Faith (love God, love others... there is nothing greater)
- Girlfriends (hang on to women who love even the you that you don't)
- Giving (give of yourself all that you can... your time, your money, your skills... it's all God's, so give it away and you will find a joy that will amaze you every time)
- George's Pizza (visit Pella, IA... climb into a booth, order a large hawaiian pizza and split it with one of the aforementioned people)

Be blessed!

What has been a thing of real value in your life?

Welcome to our blog!

I wanted to start out with something deeply interesting... instead you get just a general welcome. This is the Tremper family blog page. We are excited to share our lives and musings with you.