Gleeview: Acceptance

Do you ever feel like an outsider? Like you don't quite fit in. Sometimes I feel like one day at school they passed out a "How To Be Cool" handbook--only I was absent that day. I think this is why I find Glee so appealing. Sure I watch it to hear great music, see sweet dance moves, laugh at clever jokes. But really what keeps me coming back to Hulu.com to catch every episode is that I can relate to characters that feel like...losers.

The problem Glee presents is that we are all different, we all feel like losers sometimes, and we all need complete acceptance. I wholeheartedly agree with the legitimacy of this problem. What I can't quite track with is the solution Glee offers up. Glee seems to sing and dance, "If we all just quit picking at each other's lifestyle choices, and just approved of whatever works for each individual, this problem would no longer exist." Or "Just accept yourself, and one day the world will accept you too."  True, there is value in accepting yourself and others.  It just never seems to be enough. 

In my experience, the cross is the only source of true acceptance. Only at the cross does the God of the universe say, "I know firsthand what you've done. I'm experiencing the pain and suffering your mistakes caused right now. But I love you 100% anyways. The pain of losing you would be worse than the pain of the cross. I'll pay any cost to restore you to myself."

This is coming from someone who tried every other source she could think of to find a solution to this problem. Before I turned to the Gospel my list of other lovers included popularity, resume-building titles, and the attention of men. None would satisfy. I tried positive psychology, self-help books, journaling, the works. Nothing helped me to see myself as valuable, loved, and worth knowing. Nothing short of Jesus.

We did nothing to deserve his love, in fact we did things to disqualify us from his love but he still chose to love us relentlessly. That's the only thing I can count on when I start to feel like I'm just not cool enough.

What helps you find acceptance?  I'd love to hear your thoughts, whether you agree with me or not.

Candy to my eyes

One of my favorite things in our apartment--and not just because I'm an English nerd--is our bookshelf. It's just a cheap $20 borrow-a-power-drill-from-grandpa-so-you-can-build-it-yourself sort of thing. We bought the purse and shoes I wanted this bookshelf on a Target gift card and to me it spelled one thing: blank canvas.

Old books, candlesticks gifted to us (candles coming soon?  I kind of like them without what do you think?)

A picture I love (from an old National Geographic).

Something the hubs brought into the marriage that I think is kinda cute.

A picture frame I used at the wedding + leftover invitation paper + a page ripped out of an old hymnal (My mother would scream!)

We're working the finishing touches on the rest of the apartment.  Will post as soon as we're finished!

My Husband is Grizzly Adams

Or Bear Grylls. Or Chuck Norris. We went camping this weekend, and although the trip probably disqualified him for the boyscouts by lack of preparedness, he saved the day time and time again.
There's one thing you need to know: Philip is an avid outdoorsman, and Chelsea simply is not. Don't get me wrong I love nature. I prefer beautiful scenery like it is at Ross Point Camp--a block away from KFC and a mile away from Starbucks. Philip's never paid to camp, and he pees outdoors recreationally. This was our first try at compromising a camping trip that we'd both enjoy.

Night #1
9:00 PM We arrived up North.
9:03 The woods become Creepsville in the dark.
9:15 We find a campsite.
9:16 We realize we forgot a flashlight.
9:16:30 I start bawling.
9:20 Philip begins setting up camp by the light of my van's headlights.
9:22He discovers we have only half of the correct poles along with some poles that go to an old garden arch.
9:30 Using the butt of his ax, Philip smashes the ends of the arch poles until they fit into the tent poles. The tent won't stand with the strength of the poles alone. Philip busts out some rope and ties it around the tent and to cement blocks/logs/whatever we can find around us until the tent stands...sort of.
9:45 I discover a broken zipper on the tent door, and a gaping hole near the bottom of the tent. I bawl yet again, "I can't believe you brought us this tent."
9:50 Philip chugs a caprisun and using the empty container and some bandaids from the first aid kit we mend the hole.
10:00 I close the tent door using spare ponytails.
10:15 We head to bed--early.
THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT I have several scary dreams that translate into doing strange things in my sleep. Poor Philip.

The Next Morning
Philip, "What do you want for breakfast?" We'd packed eggs, bacon, potatoes, onions, etc. and a camp stove to cook it on. Oh wait, we forgot the skillet. "We can at least have hot chocolate." Oh wait we forgot the water. "How do S'mores sound?" S'mores=the breakfast of champions.

Dinner
We didn't bring any firewood but scavenged for it instead. Next thing I know I see Phil carrying A WHOLE TREE towards our campsite. I'd like to report that he ripped it out of the ground with his bare hands, but that wouldn't be very green. Nah, he found a fallen tree and brought it back to chop up and burn to cook our hotdogs. Our futile attempts to find firewood that would actually burn we resorted to burning kindling, the one piece of spare firewood our neighbors left behind the day before, and the "Bear Warning" signs we found at other campsites (let's hope no one got eaten by a bear on our behalf). These things don't last very long in the fiery inferno so this looks like Philip frantically gathering and dumping kindling into the fire as fast as he can while I try and get the hot dogs roasted before it burns to smoking embers.

We had a few successes on this trip: seeing buffalo up close (Philip thinks it's strange that I'm more afraid of bugs than I am of buffalo), going on a hike around the lake, laughing like third graders. But it was all that didn't go as planned that made the trip really memorable. Here's to compromise! Here's to S'mores! Here's to memories!

What last minute summer outings have you been on lately?

I do love you

Our good camp friend Brandon Wheeler wrote us a poem as a wedding gift.  He once wrote me a poem about breaking my arm (against a wall while playing kickball), and at Ross Point he's known for his famous poem-for-cookie deal.  But this one is serious, beautiful, and seriously beautiful.  It's written from the perspective of Philip and I to each other.  Enjoy!

There must be a God
And I know it's true
I can see his love
When I look at you
He must have a plan
For this road called life
Since he brought you here
And put you by my side

My arms are holding you
They'll always hold you up
Even when your strength
Is just not strong enough
What tomorrow brings
Only Heaven knows
But I will stay with you
Wherever life's road goes

Now I've never been as sure
Of anything before
And I'm loving every moment
Here with you
For better or for worse
Are now so much more than words
And I pray that every day
God lets me prove

That I meant what I said
When I said that I do
And I mean what I say
When I say I love you

Sneak peek from Memory Montage Photography

Ketchup

Neither of the Arnold's eat this juicy tomato stuff. Though Mr. Arnold smothers everything in mustard, including his white t-shirts. Clearly I need to play a little ketchup catch up on this blog. Okay, so there's a lot of catching up to do. I just got MARRIED! Woot woot!  Went on a glorious honeymoon to Canada. And started (the long process) of moving into our new apartment.


I'm dying to fill you in! However, our to-do list is miles long and also includes enjoying each other and not being zonked into the computer all day. Ohhhh being grown-ups...So I'll do this in steps. For starters, I thought I'd give you a little taste. Since this blog is called "In These Shoes," here's a honeymoon sneak peek that'll shoe show you where my feet tread on Canadian soil.





More to come I promise!