Amy Scott's Thoughts

This year I’ve been really enjoying the transition to spring. Maybe because we didn’t get a lot of snow this winter, which is really the only highlight of winter so without it, I’m ready to move on. Spring is usually a season I breeze through in a hurried like fashion. I don’t pay much attention to it. Fall would be my favorite season followed by summer and then followed by winter (because I get presents in the winter). But spring… it’s never got much attention from me.Until now!

I’m enjoying spring immensely so far! It’s been sunny and I love the sun. My hubby has some lovely and colorful flowers around the yard. The tree in our front yard is in full bloom and I have a vase of tulips on the dining table. I removed the snowflake gel clings on our office window yesterday and I replaced them with a sun and some clouds and birds! Sounds like spring to me!

Jeremy and I have been in recovery mode from our big Easter weekend so we decided to treat ourselves to lunch yesterday at our favorite Chinese restaurant. My fortune cookie told me it’s okay to slow down and smell the roses and that is exactly what I plan on doing… except I have no “roses” to actually smell (minor detail). After a busy couple of weeks with my life feeling like a blur, I’m ready to slow down and take it all in! I’m ready to admire the flowers and I’m ready to enjoy the sunshine and I’m ready for spring! Hurray!

For the most part, I’m a sucker for holidays – any holiday! I love wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day and yes, I am a pincher! If I don’t see green on you, beware! Last night as we were getting ready for bed I reminded my hubby of his need for green. Of course, this sent him into a rant about how much he doesn’t like St. Patrick’s Day. He informed me it was a made up holiday and then I gave him the history of St. Patrick and why he is a good guy to remember. Jeremy responded that no one knows the story of St. Patrick and that is not the reason they celebrate. I agree – very few people celebrate the missionary who wasn’t Irish, but witnessed to the Irish people. I just learned on Wikipedia that we celebrate March 17th because it was the day of his death, so even I learned a new fact today.

Growing up I enjoyed the school parties and crafts and goodies that surrounded the holidays. My mom was very sweet and would often give my sister and I small gifts on days like Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day. I always look forward to these days. The traditions can make even a senseless holiday seem fun. As an adult, I will admit that Jeremy and I don’t spend a lot of money on Valentine’s Day – mainly because it’s right after Christmas and in-between both our birthdays. If we got presents on Valentine’s Day it would be four months in a row of gift giving which can be a little hard on the budget. I have no problem spending Valentine’s Day with my sweetie and appreciating our relationship. It doesn’t have to be expense.

St. Patrick’s Day is an easy holiday in my book as well – just wear green and don’t get pinched! Not a lot of big drama or planning or spending. Back in the day when we were first married Jeremy and I made Easter baskets for each other and then it went the way of Valentine’s Day. It didn’t make a lot of sense to keep the endless gift giving going. However, chocolate bunnies are still a tradition without the basket.

I will admit that Earth Day and Arbor Day don’t get much attention from me.  President’s Day, Labor Day and Memorial Day are always appreciated for their long weekends. Columbus Day… doesn’t really rank high, not that I don’t appreciate what Columbus did. Veteran’s Day I don’t get off, but I do normally start my Christmas shopping that weekend so it kind of redeems the day, plus I really do appreciate what Veteran’s Day stands for. I’m sure there are probably some random holidays that I’m missing.

It wouldn’t be a holiday blog without a shout to the two best food holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas! Those are high up on the list, but I think they are for most people. We also can’t forget Independence Day –  Jeremy was sharing last night that the 4th of July is totally validated because it gives you a reason to blow things up. I like it for the summer BBQs.

Oh! And you can’t forget the holidays that aren’t really holidays – like Pi(e) Day which we just celebrated this last week or Red Cup Day in November. If there aren’t enough random holidays, it’s fun to add some made up holidays into the mix!

As you can see, I love holidays. Good food. Long weekends. Seeing family. Remembering loved ones or important historical moments. It’s all good. So my philosophy is wear green on St. Patrick’s Day and have fun with it. Why not?

How do you celebrate some of the more random holidays? Any made up holidays that you enjoy?

We know all that I struggle with being a bit of a pessimist. I call it being “realistic”, but really my mind naturally thinks of all the worst case scenario stuff right off the bat. Seeing the bright side isn’t my first reaction. Usually I look for a bright side, but truthfully, it’s a choice to look.

I was writing this week in my quiet time. It’s not really blog material, but I need to process my world through words so I write for myself. And for Jesus. I write because when I get the words out of my head, I feel heard. It doesn’t seem to matter if there is an audience or not. As I was writing, I surprised myself with this line:

It doesn’t make any sense to focus on the worst when the best is just as possible. 

Okay, who is that and what has she done with Amy. I typed it and I literally stopped. It’s so true, but I don’t often think this way. It’s easy to get caught up in worst case scenarios. I’ve spent years thinking of the horrible ways things could go wrong. I’m learning that even if things don’t got as I plan, they usually don’t turn out to be my worst case scenarios. Surprisingly, even in the moments when I have lived the worst case scenario, God is still good and he is still there in the midst of all it. I’m never walking through this life alone and that doesn’t sound too bad if you ask me.

So yes, I have realized that for every doomsday scenario I fabricate in my head, there is just as much of a chance that I will be blown away by the best possible scenario. There is just as much of a chance for God to show up and completely turn even the darkest of moments into places of praise and rejoicing. (I think the Bible says something like that – “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5)

Today I am choosing to believe that things might turn out better than expected. Strange, but gives me a good feeling.

Lately, I feel like I’ve been channeling the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz (a movie I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen in its entirety). I’ve been doing some pretty stupid stuff and it’s making me wonder if I have straw in my noggin. Here are just a few of my shining moments. I hope you find them humorous. I’m choosing to laugh, but maybe I should be concerned…

On Sunday, I was conversing with a parent about the upcoming girls sleepover. Since the mom wasn’t there to talk with me directly about helping with the sleepover, I gave my phone number and email address as a way to get in touch with me to discuss the details. Only, I couldn’t remember my phone number!!! Like an idiot with an audience I stood there apologizing. At one point I almost went to get Jeremy to help. Once I remembered  my number, the parent didn’t seem too convinced that I knew what I was talking about. Can you blame him?

Last night as I was getting ready for bed I was doing my nightly routine of adding a throw blanket to my side of the bed. I like a little extra warmth and my warm blooded hubby doesn’t. As I was putting my blanket on the bed, I managed to knock over my water glass and spill it all over my side of the bed and the surrounding floor. Now that was one of those awesome moments that I watched in slow motion. I could see it happening and yet there was nothing I could do to stop it. There is nothing like dousing your bed right before you plan to get into it. Real smooth!

This morning in the shower I ended up putting facial cleanser in my hair like it was shampoo – never done that before. Don’t know what I was thinking there. Oh wait, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t thinking. I continued on in my morning routine and was checking my emails. I had an email waiting for me saying that I got the snack rotation for my Growth Group mixed up. Sure enough, I looked at my notes and saw that I misread them the night before. It’s bad when you can’t read what you wrote properly. It’s not like it was written in sloppy handwriting. I just can’t read.

So as you can see, I’m a bit brainless right now. As this cold drags on and I’m plagued by tiredness and a busy schedule, I’m wondering what is next? I keep surprising myself with all the random things I can pull off when I’m in a tired haze. Lucky for me, I have no plans for the rest of the evening and that is reassuring! My brain cells need some serious TLC before they really do resemble straw.

Oh, if I only had a brain!

Side Note – If you find my brain, please return it! I miss being a fully functioning member of society!

The much anticipated birthday has come and gone. I’m officially 27 and so far it hasn’t been that bad despite my issue with the number 27 – it’s main offense is being an odd number. I hate odd numbers. Oh well. Good thing it changes every year so it won’t be odd forever. I got to spend lots of time with family celebrating my birthday and I would love to get you the highlights!

Pina Colada Cake

On Friday, Jeremy and I went to the grocery store because we literally had close to no food. I was living off of a cereal as long as the milk held out. I also needed supplies because this year I planned on making my own birthday cake. Food Network Magazine had a whole section on birthday cakes this month and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make a Pina Colada cake – part of the reasoning with show up later in this post. The downside of shopping at Walmart in Lewis County is that it doesn’t have the same supplies I’m guessing the average high end grocery store in New York City has (the home of Food Network). I had to do some substituting and because this cake to feed more than myself I went a bit on the safe side to make sure it was edible. I did use Betty Crocker mix and frosting, but I made the pineapple filling on my own. The cake gets brushed with pineapple juice and I added coconut extract to the frosting, so even Betty got improved upon and not left in her natural form. Like all good baking projects, I know what I do differently next time, but overall the result was a success – even if it wasn’t identical to the cake in the magazine.

27 Candles

Saturday was my birthday celebration with my side of the family. Jeremy and I drove up to hang out with my sister, brother-in-law and parents. We played a board game in which my dad who never plays games thoroughly beat us all. The meal was Pizza Hut carryout. I really indulged and got cheese pizza with cheese stuffed crust and cheese sticks. Everything is better with more cheese! The activity during dinner was 27 things our family loves about Amy. My poor brother-in-law – this was not his game and I totally understand because I was made to play as well. Each family member took a turn until 27 things had been said. Funny, but awkward in a loving family kind of way. Once the meal was over it was on to presents! April and Andrew got me A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans. I’ve already finished it and can’t wait to blog about my thoughts! After I opened my gifts, it was time to give a gift to my mother. Just after Christmas, our family started scheming to form a family vacation to Hawaii for her 50th birthday. My dad had been planning the trip for a while and was gracious enough to let the rest of us join in. It was so exciting to finally tell mom about the trip! The last three week I’ve been bursting with Hawaii joy and having to keep it contained!  The evening concluded with 2 hours of Downton Abbey! A great birth day celebration!

Make a Wish!

Sunday was a different day by all accounts. Our church had decided to change our schedule and show the Seahawks game. Since I’m not a football fan, I stayed home. It was great to have some quiet time at home on Sunday. Opportunities like that are rare. Once the game was over and Jeremy was home from the hoopla, we traveled over to his parents house to celebrate with them and Jeremy’s brother and sister-in-law. It was a fun day full of table games and good food. As the birthday girl, I got to request the menu so we enjoyed Piggies-in-a-Blanket which for the Scott family resembles Biscuits and Gravy with sausage in the biscuits. Very tasty! Dessert was red velvet cake from Costco which I adore. I love birthdays because the food is always sooo good! I appreciated all the love and laughter that I get to share with my family. Because of icy roads, the evening ended in time for me to get home to watch Once Upon a Time and Downton Abbey. Sunday night is a wonderful night of television! It was the perfect way to wrap up the day!

Puppy.Blanket.Book.Snow

Monday was my actually birthday! I had doughnuts for breakfast and worked on the big girls sleepover coming up in a month. It was fun to spend the morning working on a creative project that I love so much. I met up with my mom & sister for lunch. Jeremy joined us and it was lovely time. I enjoyed warm soup and bread before heading off to Starbucks for a hot chocolate. During the lunch hour it started to snow, so my afternoon at home involved watching snowflakes and reading my new book. A great way to spend the day! My mom had gotten me birthday balloons, so they festively bobbed around while I watched the snow come down. The snow and wet roads did freeze over so our plans to go out to dinner were postponed. I was fine with that. A quiet evening at home is never something to complain about in my book. Last night we made our way to Red Robin where I used my free birthday burger to end the birthday celebrating!

It was a great week full of family time, good food and celebrating! Thank you to all the loving family members and friends who blessed me and made my birthday special! I am so thankful!

I’ve been thinking about the purpose of my blog. Why do I do it? What am I trying to convey? I realize that the topics in my blog are very diverse and sometimes random. I admire those that have “family” blogs and keep people updated on the happening of their family. I would not say this is a family blog because Jeremy has little to no input on what I write here. In fact, he reads all my blogs at the same time you do – when I’ve published them for the world to see.  Yes, I do like to write about what activities I’ve been up to and that involves Jeremy and even my Toby dog, so I understand in a way this blog touches on the family blog theme. But just look at the title this webpage – you’ll see that I’m a bit to selfish to share this blog with my family… Maybe someday I’ll grow up and share the limelight.

There are many writers who blog on a consistent basis and they are a voice speaking out with a purpose. They are passionate about this topic and that topic. You’ll find them brilliantly sharing their thoughts on Christianity, being a woman in ministry, specific causes or their most recent book release. While I envy these great thinkers, my blog isn’t about a cause. I thought it would be when I started it. I thought this would be a place where I would write about what it is like to be a woman in ministry. I quickly learned that there is only so much I can publicly write about ministry. I love serving God’s people and it certainly has it’s ups and downs. I’m not brave enough to write about what might upset me, where I see or feel injustice, all the nitty-gritty details of ministry.  At least not a blog with my name on it. I don’t want you to get me wrong, there are lots of great and glorious things about serving in church. I’m not downing my position or my community of believers. It’s just without stepping over a line, I can never be completely honest here.

This is not a baking blog or a craft blog. I’ve visited those and wow, do they make me jealous! I’m always floored at what people create. Beautiful cakes, lovely meals, amazing artwork. I would love to be crafty. I mean truly crafty – like sell my wares on etsy crafty. While I do crafts, I wouldn’t say I have a great talent for it. Yes, I like to bake. Yes, from time to time I make a homemade card, but this really isn’t a crafty, homey, cooking,  baking blog.

I realize that I’ve dabbled in all forms of blogging. I don’t really stick to one theme or category. I’m sure that might annoy some of you. And I’m sorry if it is does. I’m just not good at putting myself in a box and sticking with one theme. I’m still exploring all those options of who I am and what I want to write about.

I do know this – I want to write about life -my real, everyday life. I want to write about the things that fill my day, the people I love and the food I eat. I want to write about the shows that make me laugh and the books that make me cry. I want to write about the kids that I teach and the teenagers that hang out in my office. I want to write about sharing ministry and life with my hubby. I want to write about housekeeping and how my little dog is cute and annoying. I want to write about the things that keep me up at night and the thoughts that won’t leave me alone. I want to write about the victories in my life – big or small. I want to write about the hard times and what God shows me through them.

This blog is therapy for me and you are a part of my sanity. I would write this blog regardless of it got daily hits. I’m not here to grow my numbers or reach a target audience. I’m here because I need to write. I need to get words out of my head so I can understand them and grasp them and come to grips with what they mean. I don’t think I’m brilliant and I’m not sure I impart much wisdom here, but I do hope that someone reads this blog and relates. I pray that someone reads this blog and thinks “I understand, I totally get it”. Maybe that doesn’t happen, but that is my wish and my purpose. I want to write about life – in all it’s forms – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Why blog? Because I love to write and my world makes the most sense through words.

I don’t know if you ever have this inner tension when your birthday comes around. I feel torn in two directions. Part of me is like a little school kid. I want to have a giant party and invite the whole class. I want the whole day to be a celebration of me. The other part of me (probably the adult side) wants to just forget about the whole date. I don’t want attention or fanfare. No big deal. Fly under the radar. I guess I’m young enough to want the big hoopla and old enough to understand why adults are less excited to celebrate birthdays.

I think 25 was the last birthday I was really excited to celebrate. It meant I was in my mid-twenties. I was still young, but I was old enough to have some since of authority (or so I assumed). 25 felt like a right of passage, like I was really an adult. However that glory didn’t last long. I still don’t feel like an adult. I’m learning that there are no magic numbers where everything clicks.

I always thought that I would want to celebrate my birthdays in a big, fun loving way. I didn’t think I was going to be the person that freaks out the closer I get to 30. While I’m not too concerned about 30 (yet), turning 27 next week hasn’t sat well with me. I wish it wasn’t the case. But I figure I should be honest. Birthdays can remind you have how far you’ve come and where you’re going – much like a new year. It’s a time to reflect and it’s time to hope and dream for the future.

I want to preface that I love my life and I am very blessed. I remind myself of that when my mind wonders and it has been wondering a bit lately. I keep comparing myself to who I thought I would be at 27 and what I thought my life would look like. In so many ways the plans I made when I was younger have not panned out the way I expected and that is not a bad thing. God has been so good. He is redirected and steered me in ways I never expected and for that I am grateful. The trouble is in comparing. Nothing good comes from comparing.

For some reason this upcoming birthday has tried to derail me a bit and I’ve decided to not let it. I’ve decided to let my birthday off the hook. I’m not going to give it the power it seems to want to have my life. While there will be no big party like the kindergarten days, I will also not pretend like it’s  just another day. I will celebrate with family. Even though my plans will not be glamorous, they will be homey and cozy and fun. I realize that the older I get I will have to intentionally make birthdays special and keep them in perspective. I don’t want to be the kind of a adult that hides from aging. I don’t want to stay forever at a certain age. I want to embrace each new year that the Lord gives me. I don’t want to compare it with old hopes and dreams and plans. They are shadows and assumptions and hold no place in my current life.

So yes, in away turning 27 is no big deal. Nothing to be upset about and nothing to bring on worry or even sadness. I will keep walking forward knowing that God holds the pen and I am excited to see what Chapter 27 holds. It’s his story, not mine. I don’t want to help him “edit” it. I just want to be along for the journey – fully invested in every twist and turn. After too much thinking on the topic, I’ve decided at that age only has so much power over my life. It has as much power as I give it. And I’ve decided that age doesn’t really matter. Not when I’ve been following in the footsteps of the Lord. This a good place. I might have to remind myself of this from time to time, but that’s okay. I’m only human. Good thing the author is supernatural and so much more creative than me. I can trust him.