"Stuff"

Still working on getting those pictures up. I don't have the internet at home (back the the stone-age you say?) and I can't do it at work... but i do have this one from the Disney photo website! Goofy was trying to tickle us!





In other news :) I found an article online that if I didn't know better i would have mistaken it for something Darryl had written... so I thought I'd share that... I changed the names and some small details (denoted with a *) and added my own comments here and there (in italics).. so it fits just perfectly to our lives... I found it quite hilarious... and so did Darryl after I made him read it... haha

I am a very private person. I just had a disagreement (we have to call it a disagreement because an argument is not something that newlyweds do) with my wife, Kristie*, because of how private (stupid?) I am. Yep, we just had a disagreement about Virginiah Tech Football*. I just had the dumbest disagreement with my wife over football*, because I am a private person(or idiot :)). It all started with a phone call. My friend Tommy*(the one who missed his first VT football game in 8 years for our wedding) woke me up at 9:40 a.m. with questions about a Virginia Tech Football game* (who would want to discuss the Georgia Tech vs. VT football game anyway? it wasn't pretty) No big deal, right? Well it wasn’t a big deal, that is until my wife asked me what time I got up today. Kristie* asked me what time I got up today and I replied, “I was rudely awoken by Tommy*.” She then asked what he called about.

Mistake number one was answering her question with, “Stuff.”

She, of course, asked, “What stuff?”

Mistake number two was again replying with, “Stuff.” (when will a boy learn?)

Very rarely do I keep secrets from my wife. In fact, I can’t even think of one time that I intentionally did it. There is no need. However, I do have a nasty habit of deciding for her what is and is not important to talk about. The reason that I answered her questions the way I did was because I did not feel the need or the importance to inform her of Tommy’s* mid-morning football call. Then, when she persisted, I wanted to not tell her even more. The weird thing is that I have nothing to be private about. I have nothing to hide. But, if I feel that something is not important, I will protect that feeling with all of my being. Even to the point where I have Kristie* completely annoyed with me (this happens very frequently :)).

I am a private person. I do not openly discuss things unless I feel that they warrant discussion (typical male.. except you Jer :)). Kristie* will come home from work and chatter away with very little provocation. Although, when she asks me about my day I am very content with one-word answers (perfect way to drive a girl nuts). I guess I am not that big on small talk. If I don’t have anything to say, I am not going to dribble on just to hear myself talk or make people around me feel comfortable because the silence was getting to them.

But why was it so hard to answer Kristie’s* question with, “football*,” rather than, “stuff?” Maybe it was because I thought it was none of her business. I felt a little annoyed that she asked. What does it matter to her what Tommy* and I spoke about? It’s not like I was talking to another woman (or Aaron.. hehe). Paul writes in his letter to Ephesus instructing them to, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold”(Eph. 4:26-27, TNIV).

It is amazing that in those two seconds that it took Kristie* to ask me what Tommy* called about, the devil filled my head with various thoughts that led me down the same path—wondering why the heck she was prying into my business. What right of hers was it to want to know what Tommy* called me about? You know what? She does have that right. You know why, because she is my wife. We are one, and I need to start recognizing that. When I said, “I do,” I gave up the right to secrets. When I said, “I do,” I voluntarily accepted the opportunity to be intimate with someone that I love very much. Intimacy has very little to do with sex, and everything to do with emotion. While I was finishing that last thought, the metaphor of Jesus and the Church as a marriage totally became concrete for me. When I said, “I do,” to God I was accepting His invitation to be completely intimate with Him.

All of this strife and enlightenment because I didn’t want to tell my wife about a conversation that I had about Virginia Tech football*, God bless ESPN!

Here's the orginal article if your interested. RelevantMag. has some great articles if you've ever got time to read... which I suppose you do if you have time to read blogs :) hope you enjoyed :)

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life_article.php?id=7275