Salty Zebra

   Last week I did my regular checkup and MRI for my brain tumor. I have had a lot of neurological symptoms, so we were a little concerned going into this one. We had decided in advance though that regardless of the outcome, we were going to do our big Disney trip coming up in May. That made me feel a little better, but I'm not excited about the idea of doing radiation, so I was probably holding my breath a little.   As I mentioned in this post , the whole idea of living six-months at a time, essentially living life on a lease, is overwhelming. You don't know quite how to feel. You don't know quite how to plan. You just don't know, that's the kicker. I get that no one knows , but still, for the most part you can make plans in life and know that you will likely get to follow them through.  So we got up at o-dark-thirty to head into the city for my MRI since traffic is so bad at that time of day. We made it with some time to spare though, so we sat in a waiting ro...

  One wouldn't think that figuring out parking is the most difficult part of planning an Alaskan Cruise, but if you're sailing out of Seattle, it is. Taking a quick peek at Norwegian's website, I see that you can book an inside room on an Alaskan cruise for only $500 per person. But did you know you'll spend almost half-again that much on parking? "Why would I pay so much for parking when I live nearby?" You might ask. Well, let me break it down for you.  Your first thought might be to ask a friend or neighbor to give you a ride. I haven't forgotten Shuttle Express' motto in the early 2000s, "Friends don't ask friends for a ride to the airport." Seriously though, this is a really big request. My next cruise departs on a Wednesday and returns on a Friday, so whoever took me would have to take two mornings off of work. That time of day it's likely to take two hours up and another hour and a half back, so I'm asking for nearly four h...

  “Come, let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.”   Psalm 95:6  What does it mean to bow down to someone or something? I asked CoPilot and this is what it said: To bow down to someone or something can symbolize an act of profound respect, submission, or acknowledgment of superiority. It often conveys the idea of lowering oneself, either physically or metaphorically, in recognition of authority, greatness, or even divine power. This phrase can be used literally—for instance, bowing in front of a king or a religious deity—or figuratively, as in "bowing down to societal norms" or "bowing down to pressure," where it means yielding or conceding to something. The expression sometimes carries emotional or situational weight, depending on the context. It can reflect reverence and devotion, or it might signify surrender or defeat.   Often in life, we are compelled to “bow down” to people or ideas. In the portion of the story I re...

  “Listen to advice and receive discipline, that you may become wise by the end of your life.” Proverbs 19:20  Esther showed a pattern of listening to the wisdom of her guardian, Mordecai. He cautioned her not to reveal her heritage when she was brought into the harem (Esther 2:10). He continued to care for her even after she had left his home by walking back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her (Esther 2:11). This went on for at least a year, likely years as I mentioned last time. I can only imagine that Mordecai and/or Esther came up with some way to communicate to him. Maybe a slave was sent with news or she hung a certain color scarf out of a window or something. I can’t imagine Mordecai waking back and forth for years with no connection to her. I also am guessing that she was the beneficiary of his wisdom, counsel and concern even when she was in the harem. Now, that’s not in the Bible so I’m not taking it ...

 In my youth and my young adulthood, I was a slave to the "What-ifs." "What if my husband doesn't make it home from work?" "What if my child falls ill?" "What if we run out of food on the table when company is over?" I combatted these fears with plans.  If my husband was 20 minutes late on his way home from work, mind you his commute could range in length from an hour and fifteen minutes to three hours,  I had his memorial service planned, I had figured out what job I was going to try to get and had figured out child care.  I think that was my meager effort to control what was truly out of my control.    Then, as I approached middle-agedness, my anxiety began to increase. I could no longer plan my way out of my fears. They were things like,  "What if my kids don't want to have anything to do with me as adults?" I didn't know what I would do, how I would handle it, what could fix it. I struggled with anxiety and d...

  Note: The images used in today's post are taken from one of my favorite movies, One Night With the King “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.”   Esther 2:17  When we read stories in the Bible, it’s easy to lose track of the scope of the timing involved. In one sentence, Esther is an orphaned Jewess living with her cousin and a few sentences later, she is Queen of Persia. That’s not how it happened for her though. We read in Esther 1:3 that Xerxes’ banquet took place in the third year of his reign and that Esther’s banquet was held in the seventh year. That means four years passed between the two. How long did it take for Xerxes to bemoan the loss of his wife? Days? Weeks? His advisors quickly came up with an idea to appease him, and I’m sure it took time to gather the virgins from every province of Xerxe...

“Praise the Lord! How blessed is the one who obeys the Lord, who takes great delight in keeping his commands”    Psalm 112:1  Sometimes God’s commands are hard to follow. Sometimes, at least initially, they don’t seem like what we want. We explored last week God’s command to respect our husbands. I reiterate, it does not say “Respect your husband when he is being respectable,” or “Respect your husband when he loves you.” It simply says, “Respect your husband.” Even more than telling us to respect them, it says to submit to them. Yes, this means obey, but it means so much more.  Obedience can be done begrudgingly. We can do something with our bodies and still resist it in our minds. It’s like a child we tell to apologize to their sibling for hitting them. Yes, they may say, “Sorry,” but do they mean it? Perhaps that’s where punishment came from, to help us feel sorry for what we’ve done. In any case, to submit, or submission, is not just obedience, it’s buy...

   I get asked this question a lot, and until recently I didn't know how to answer. Sometimes I'll say, "I used to be a... (home-maker, homeschool mom, yoga instructor, travel agent)." Sometimes I'll say, "I'm just trying to take care of myself." None of it really feels satisfying though, and I typically walk away feeling like I did myself an injustice.   There's so much more to me than what I "do." It certainly doesn't define who I am, especially in this season of my life. In our culture, we seem to be defined by our jobs. My daughter is a flight attendant. My son is a mechanic. It's not who  they are, but it's how I talk about them even. I guess it's easier to put people into a box to communicate about them.    So what do I do for a living? I am blessed to have a husband with a job that abundantly provides for us financially. I would have liked to work a side-hustle as a travel agent to facilitate more travel for mysel...

Note: I am an Amazon Associate and if you shop through the links in this post, I will receive a small commission. This does not change your price, but enables me to continue my Salty Zebra Adventures!  "What's a park bag?" you might ask? I can't wait to tell you! Park bags are more of an art than a science and everyone has to figure out what's best for them. One person wants to walk around in Disney style with a LoungeFly bag:  Another might keep it simple with a fanny pack :  And still others minimize with a running belt :      Regardless of your conveyance, you're going to need something to carry your stuff around the Disney parks. Bare minimum, you'll have a cell phone, wallet and a water bottle that you're not going to want to keep in your hands! But what else might you need to make your park day great? I've got you covered! Rain  I'm from the Pacific Northwest where we are comfortable with rain. If you see someone with an umbrella, they...