Rrrrandomness

This post is just a hodge-podge collection of pictures and thoughts, so here goes.  

Whilst praying about something very specific and seeking God's direction, I checked the daily verse on YouVersion, and it was this, so I made a verse image out of it! ❤

Here are 3 random Bible Lens pictures with verses, just for fun!

The first page of my 2019 Bible Reading (picking one favorite verse from each day's reading - I had to read 3 on day 1 to catch up to Tuesday). =)

I did some baking this week - these are chocolate chip cookie made with bananas, and WOW, I'm a fan!  They're kinda cakelike, like a mini version of the muffie from Panera. Yuss, please!

I went to visit Chettles and fam at his Mega Open House on Saturday (after completing my 3 miles at Planet Fitness).  It was fun to catch up a little and hold Tate for a bit!

Cuteness!  He's crawling all around now!

In surprising news, I ate my last candy bar I bought from T-man a couple days ago (tracking it, of course).  This means that I managed to keep chocolate in my house for over 3 months without ever going overboard with it, a major accomplishment and success in my book! =)  (I texted Rach this pic since I was sad to be done with them.  Then I baked cookies and all was well again. lol)

In very exciting and refreshing and encouraging news, I visited Evergreen Baptist Church yesterday and loved it. I loved the reverent atmosphere, the non-recycled + interesting + Biblically accurate + challenging sermon, the hymn songs, the friendly and welcoming people, the list of groups and classes they offer, the fact that they have Sunday School, etc.  It reminded me of First Southern a bit, which was always a church where I felt very "at home."  (I'm excited to visit again and check out the later service, which is apparently a bit more contemporary.)

They offer free sign language classes (awesome), a Wednesday course on Evangelism and Apologetics (where they teach you how to approach Muslims, Mormons, and Jehovah Witnesses with the gospel message), an active women's ministry, and LifeGroups (which surprised me at a Baptist church).  There is also an upcoming Bible study led by the pastor which will focus on Revelation 2 and 3 (the chapters I literally just wrote about here).  I checked out their website for a while, and their key verse about their purpose is "speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him..." so obviously, that made me happy! They also have a library in their lobby, which I loved, so I perused through lots of books and checked out Billy Graham's autobiography - yes, please!  ❤

I was the youngest person in my Sunday School class, but it didn't bother me.  Multiple people introduced themselves and one woman came over to sit by me and chat for a bit.  The class was comparing the miracles of Jesus in different gospels - it just all had a depth and reverence level I've been missing.  .....A couple hours after I got home from church, someone stopped by my house with a welcome packet, including a 2-liter of Coke and some popcorn, a salvation tract, a welcome letter, and lots of info about the church.  That was impressive and reassuring to me, too.  (That and the fact that I have already been called by the Young Adults Pastor and received an email from their women's leader - their outreach and follow-up is on point, and it makes a difference!)

* * * * *

And now we transition from reality to fiction, starting with When Calls the Heart.  How did I get caught up in this cheesy, predictable Hallmark production?  I've been watching for five seasons, and mostly, I've been half-mocking it like Rach and I used to do with the hot mess that is 7th Heaven. lol *Spoiler alert*  But woooow, that last episode was rough, and I never saw it coming when they told her that Jack had died.  It was a very Downton Abbey move, where there was a several season build-up to this marriage, then a short but happy married life, followed by the husband dying (and the wife in this show being pregnant).  Why must these actors insist on leaving and let their egos move them away from the shows that made them famous?  Anyway, that episode was well done and the grief/anger combo very relatable, and it made me realize I care more than I thought I did about these characters!  It's a pretty wholesome and typically happy/redemptive show, so I'm okay with that and will try to approach it without an attitude in future.

So I have seen the 2019 Dumbo preview at least 5 times, and I've not managed to get through it without crying yet.  Nothing is okay when I see him painted up like a little clown, sad about them taking his mom away, and tripping over his ears.  OMG it's the very saddest.  That animated movie, the freaking Land Before Time, and The Fox and the Hound were the three saddest movies of my childhood.  And apparently, I've not outgrown those feelings.  I just want to hug him and help him find his mom, but I also want to avoid that movie so I don't get dehydrated from all the tears. lol

In happier movie news, I watched The Last Jedi again this weekend - this scene where Rey and Kylo team up for a bit is so epic and one of my favorites - I just love it!  I don't actually care that much about Star Wars, but I'm a big fan of her character -- she's strong and powerful yet humble, smart and brave and passionate, aware of the pull of darkness but committed to resisting it and fighting for light, feminine and very much a warrior.  And I like the name Rey, possibly as a middle name for my future daughter - we shall see. =)

And in future news, a month from tomorrow, I'll be on my 9th trip to Vegas, baby!!  Woohoo!  (With Tiffany, Steve, and Sarah).  Tiffany and I are going to see the Backstreet Boys in concert that Saturday, so that should be an entertaining and fun throwback! lol

On that note, here's a fun Brooklyn 99 clip to end this post of randomness:

Photo Friday - GIF edition

Happy Friday!! ❤

Since I learned to turn Live Photos into GIFs I can use here, I figured I'd take advantage of that on this lovely Photo Friday.  These tend to remind me of the pictures in Harry Potter, and that's always a fun thing!

Love this one of me and the niece and nephews!

The Jaceman dabbing it out while taking a pic with Rach after being in Homecoming! lol

My Mini Missy K being super sweet! =)

The rest of these are ones Mom took last night as they played in the snow, starting with T-man catching some snowflakes.  Here in the Tulsa area, we just got rain, but the snow looks pretty fun, and everyone said the snowflakes were the huge and fluffy ones that make things so pretty!  (This = a bounce GIF, so the snow flows upward in half of it, which makes me laugh.)

Love them all!!  I'm sure they were excited to have their Christmas break extended two more days thanks to the ice and snow!

Hiiiii, Miss!

Jace grabbing a bite of snow in the middle of making a snowman. lol  I know I used to do this too, but the thought of it disgusts me now.

Parrish Fam in the snow!  This one makes me happy - the GIF makes it feel more magical. =)

A little snow bunny hopping along - aaaaah, so precious!!

Mmkay, now I'm off to finish up and file my first transcripts for 2019.
Hope it's been a good first week for you!!

Authentic Harmony

And now, some deep thoughts on this cold and rainy day… I would have struggled to articulate this well, but something clicked into place for me last month while reading an article on personality types and relationships.  

I’ll summarize the part that stood out to me: 

Both INFJs and ENFPs value group harmony and personal authenticity.  That makes sense from all I’ve seen.  But when the two are in conflict, INFJs tend to prioritize maintaining peace and harmony over speaking their minds, considering the feelings and needs of others and striving to minimize any conflict.  While ENFPs prioritize inner authenticity over group harmony, a quality that simultaneously appeals to and scares the INFJ... (so we love their bold honesty but cringe if we notice others getting uncomfortable).  This article said ENFPs sometimes question whether their INFJ friends are being real with them because they've seen us "play chameleon” too many times, but it also said that "maintaining harmony is authentic for the INFJ," which made sense to me for a lot of reasons.  And it was helpful to read that.

This doesn't actually “fix” anything, but it helps me feel less frustrated and irritated with myself.  Because I don't want to be a "morpher," and I don't want to be fake, but I feel that way sometimes when I put group harmony above personal authenticity (or love above truth).

My desire/need for outer harmony -- for the people around me to be okay -- is why I suppress so many of my thoughts and opinions.  It’s why I stayed put too long in a church that I knew was not right for me.  Why I agonize over some decisions others might make quickly.  And it’s one of the reasons I keep hitting a wall while trying to write a memoir book.  My desire to avoid hurting others outweighs my desire to tell my story or “speak my truth.”  The two are not always in conflict, but being real and authentic while maintaining outer harmony just feels very tricky to me sometimes.  This is why I am drawn to people who tell it the way they see it and don't worry so much about whether they're offending or pleasing people.  It is a difficult thing for me to do, and since I have little practice with it, I sometimes go overboard when I do finally speak up and confront something.

I really am good at sensing the emotions and feelings of others and “playing chameleon,” as they put it, which is not always a bad thing.  But I don’t love that quality when I stay silent to keep the peace with very vocal people who see things differently.  If I'm with one person who tells crude jokes and expects me to laugh and another who is easily offended and expects me to feel the same way, I can feel myself trying to redirect topics and keep things on a more comfortable, casual level.  (Or trying to leave, depending on the situation.)  But either way, I'm feeling lots of tension while trying to keep everyone else from feeling any, and that gets exhausting.  (And explains why I love my alone time. lol)

It helps me to know that this inner conflict is normal for INFJs, but I want to find a better balance here.  To use my voice and speak up for what I believe more often.  To not let shame or false guilt or the feelings I'm imagining and projecting onto other people keep me too quiet.  Keeping friends and family happy is not worth being fake or hiding or playing it small or missing out on better things God has for me!

In certain situations, it feels like one or the other has to win --  truth vs. love, authenticity vs. harmony -- but they really can coexist and work together.  Jesus managed to be loving and kind and gentle while also being truthful and real, to love others even while speaking harsh truths that might offend them, and He tells us to "speak the truth in love."  I have to be more concerned with having real love and real peace than having the appearance of peace.  I have the utmost respect for people who do this truth-in-love thing well, and I’m determined to improve here and join them! ❤

Final 2018 Pics + Quotables

A huge part of the reason I love blogging is to have a record of the little moments that make up my life... the people, places, and things that keep life fun and interesting!  Here are a few final pictures from December that I want to have saved somewhere...

J&K hanging out in the fort... two out of three window panes have been broken over the years, but it made for a nice photo op! =)

The Mini Miss still needs me to help catch her when she tries anything on the monkey bars, and that makes me happy.

J. Michael is all about the chin-ups (and ab exercises now too)!

K. Faith with extensions. lol

Showing Bill & Jill their push-ups. =)

These Orange Bowl trophies made me laugh a lot! =)  Oh, you just became a contender for the national championship? Here, have some oranges!

My Aunt Nancy has kept a record of every family Christmas letter since 1989.  I went through and enjoyed reading them.  Dad said he still has most if not all of his SF Christmas letters (which always include a short update on our family and began the year Mom was pregnant with me), so I'd like to see those early letters someday too!!

Nancy puts out all her old photo albums every Christmas, and this was our fam ten years ago at Christmas 2008.

I made this sooo many years ago, but she puts it out at Christmas, too.

Playing games at Christmas 2009, when the current Parrish house was my parents' house!  That couch is now at Kristin's and the chair I'm sitting in there is now at Al's house.

Fun photo booth times!  (Josh was going to get the boys from Brooke, so it was just Rach and J&K there that night.)

Kristin and her boys! =)

One of my favorite Christmas phrases. ❤

Our scanner worked extra hard this past year... for the DeBusk slideshow, the cookbook, Babah's digital frame, and finally this Christmas gift of a digital frame for Grandad.  Mom and I scanned in several old pics of his favorite horses (he trained and showed horses for several years), along with old and new family pictures.  I love this one of him and Babah watching the slideshow. =)

He got this gift for his good friend and teared up as Rach wrote his name on it. ❤

I hired Tori to paint this pic of Bocephus as a gift for Kristin.  (He was her dog for the past 13 years and a big comfort to her after Anthony's death, and he died in October.)  I gave it to her at our Christmas Eve lunch and she really loved it!

This = the alumni CHA parents of Pre-K and Kindergarten children at CHA!!  (Rach, two of my old classmates, three older women, and two younger.)  Crazy but cool to see how many of them returned!

Just a post I saw and really liked.  None of us know God's timeline, and we don't have to rush things or worry about our path matching up with everyone else. 

Some more Words of Wisdom for this first Wednesday of the year!

And finally, some recent Quotables:

Jace:  "I challenge you to stand in a box for 24 hours - I challenge you that!!"
Chas:  "We’re all in the box of our own reality, man!"

(He played the role of King Herod in their class play. lol)

Jace, contemplating a six-pack:  "You know those square things guys get on their stomach?  I want those!" lol

JoBug:  "And Grandad was off to win another horse show!"
Emily:  "Did he really win them?"
JoBug:  "Just about every one he entered!"
Babah with the sarcasm:  "Yep, we didn’t enter unless we knew all the judges."

Kyndal talking about a classmate:  "That was from Taylor."

Jace:  "What??  I don’t know a Taylor!"
Kyndal (trying to remember the last name):  "Ummm, it’s Taylorrrr..."
Jace:  "Swift!?" lolol

JEM, explaining the rules of Fish Bowl:  "You give clues, so like if I said, He died for our sins..."
Chet:  "You’re thinking of Jim Caviezel, aren’t you!?" lol

Gamechanger - I figured out how to save Live Photos as gifs I can use here!!!

JEM:  "So who was your favorite - like, what were the bands that spoke to you in your youth?"
(Me and Tiffany start laughing immediately because we talked about our random music tastes and love of gansta rap on the way to the farmhouse.)
Tiffany:  "Oh, you know, I liked Eminem, Missy Elliott, Ludacris, DMX."
JEM:  "Ooooh." 
Tiffany:  "Jeremy Camp was always good!"
Chettles:  "Well, that took a drastic turn!"

Bill, after Alabama made multiple stupid errors:  "This is the dumbest game in the history of football!"

JK Rowling:  “Harry did not really listen. A warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight. A tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.” ❤

That's all for today! =)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, blog fam! =)

Tiffany and I met at Olive Garden for dinner (skipping year #4 of the group's Osaka tradition because I wanna be healthier this year and wanted Italian for my last meal of 2018. lol)  We enjoyed our soup and breadsticks and lasagna fritta and ziti... and we had a really good talk about church stuff and the desire to connect more with God, etc.  I forgot my cell phone (always such a weird feeling), so we ran back to my house to get it, and we took this pic there!

Then we headed to the Wilson Farmhouse to play games and ring in the new year with fun friends!

I'm getting excited to meet Miss Ellie Faye!  I have another shot at a February birthday buddy. =)

JEM made us a NYE playlist with fun songs from the 90s which he also danced to! lol

Karli made these fun glasses using her Cricut!

We played Fish Bowl, which was highly entertaining... my favorite part was JEM acting out the Crocodile Hunter! lol  (These pics are out of order - I dunno why.)  After the game, we went around the circle talking about our resolutions (or lack thereof).  Then we put on our paper glasses and filled our drink glasses, then counted down and toasted in the new year! =)

Our group pic makes me happy!! ❤  We accidentally divided and saved room for Jesus between Kelly and Tiffany. lol

I took Tiffany back to her car then got home around 12:40.  I like to watch something before I go to bed - the plan was to watch a short sitcom, but then I saw that Netflix had added T-Swift's full Reputation tour concert, soooo I definitely stayed up for 2 more hours to watch that. lol #noregrets  #sleepcanwait  She's not as wholesome as she once was, but she hasn't gone full-tilt crazy like I thought either, so yay for that.  I'm still a fan of 95% of her songs and lyrics, and I just find her very likable in all her raw emotional glory.  She's relatable and knows how to connect with people... and it's super entertaining to watch people flipping out when she comes into the audience. lol

Anyway, 'twas a fun New Year's Eve. =)  And 2019 is already off to a good start, using MyFitnessPal today and going to Planet Fitness for the first time in a few months!

I have a few final December pics to throw in tomorrow, as well as some fun quotes! =)  Hope you've had a nice holiday and that you are feeling hopeful with the clean slate of a new year beginning...
May the God of HOPE fill us with joy and peace as we trust in Him! (Romans 15:13) ❤