Another Stray Kitten

I'm still maintaing the stance that I am fostering this kitten, with the potential to keep him. Although, he is really winning me over. I always thought I wouldn't enjoy having a kitten because they are crazy. But that's precisely WHY I'm enjoying him! Shows how much I know.

Let me give his back story, for memory's sake! A friend of mine on Facebook posted this picture of him:

She found him near her apartment the night before and needed to find a home for him asap because of her apt rules and her other pets. Luckily I saw the picture right when Brittney posted it! I asked Levi what I should do, and he said I should just ask for more information about him. So obviously I messaged her and told her I would take him. I figured that I would just go ahead and foster him because he needed a home, and if I ended up loving him then I would just keep him! Win-win for this guy :) 

Side story on his background- Brittney was on a night run and heard meowing. She searched around and found him in the middle of a parking lot, just crying. Sad face :( Thankful for kind people like her who take strays in! He was just a baby!

So I pick him up and brought him back to the house, luckily talking Levi into coming home "just for a few minutes" to help me bathe him. Cue two hours later.... There were SO.MANY.FLEAS. Like. I cannot explain to you how many. He was absolutely covered with fleas and dirt- clearly a stray in need of a home! Turns out with a 5 week old kitten all you can use on them is Dawn soap, no flea meds or baths. We literally had to use tweezers and pluck every single flea off of him. It was as awful as you would think. I was actually sore the next day from doing that for 1.5hrs! (perhaps I shouldn't admit that...).

Anyways, we have now had him for 48hrs and I am loving it! He does not have a name, I'm working on finding the perfect fit. He absolutely LOVES Mosely, I think she needs to be his mom. She is unsure on what to do about him because he is so tiny. So she just stands there while he attacks her paws and climbs on her head. It's adorable. And so it begins, another cat story :)

I've always loved a good mad face.

He only wanted to sit on my chest! What a weirdo.

The hunt is on.

This is how most of my pictures turned out:

This is when he saw a reflection of himself and he was PISSED about it.

I'm hoping that I don't only love him because he matches my house perfectly buuuuuut...it sure helps.

- Bethany

My Favorite Wise Words

I have said before that I'm not much of a quote person...but that may not be true anymore. Maybe I'm not a Kirklands wall decal kind of quote person, but I think I am a wise words person. I cling to certain quotes because I love how well an idea or sentiment can be represented in a concise statement. I thought I'd share some of my favorite (non scripture) quotes that have encouraged me, made me think about my actions, and helped me to be a better person I think. Some of them have credit attributed, some of them don't

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Always be kinder than you feel.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

"Once in a while, it really hits people that they don't have to experience life in the way that they have been told to."- Alan Knightley (this was a recent find that I connect with SOMUCH)

"The fact that you're struggling doesn't make you a burden. It doesn't make you unloveable or undesirable or undeserving of care. It doesn't make you too much or too sensitive or too needy. It makes you human. Everyone struggles. Everyone has a difficult time coping, and at times, we all fall apart. During these times we aren't always easy to be around- and that's okay. No one is easy to be around one hundred percent of the time. Yes, you may sometimes be unpleasant or difficult. And yes, you may sometimes do or say things that make the people around you feel helpless or sad. But those things aren't all of who you are and they certainly don't discount your worth as a human being. The truth is that you can be struggling and still be loved. You can be difficult and still be cared for. You can be less than perfect, and still be deserving of compassion and kindness."- Daniell Koepke

"I don't know any perfect people, only really really flawed people who are still worth loving." - John Green

Maturing is realizing how many things don't require your comment. - Rachel Wolchin (that one feels a bit like a kick in the gut)

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This is not a comprehensive list by any means, and maybe I will add to it as I remember or come across more wise words. I'd love it if any of you wanted to share your favorite quotes or wise words with me! 

- Bethany

Looks about right

- Bethany

Dearing Estes Jones 1930-2014

I was able to speak at my grandfather's memorial service last week and I truly felt like the spirit of God was present. I want to share the words I spoke here to remember.


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"I thought that when this day came, I would be a blubbering mess. But it's amazing the ways that God can change your heart and your understanding of why death happens. I will be reading what I have written down, because honestly I am terrified of public speaking. I am comforted by what it says in Isaiah 57:2, “For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.” I want to read a line from a poem my grandpa wrote, titled “The Little Things”:

“But Lord I thank you for the little things! The little bird that visits a prison cell window, with a tune of comfort.”

I feel like everything about his character can be found in that one line. Dearing loved God, he was compassionate, he was generous to a fault, he spoke the truth about Jesus often, and he knew everything came from the Lord. Romans 12:36 says “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.” Everything that exists is intended for God's glory. Even death. Even sickness. God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him. Meaning, even in suffering and death...if it means you are turning to Jesus, then it is good. Romans 8:17 says “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we share in his glory, we must also share in his suffering.”

There has been suffering in this world ever since sin entered the scene with Adam and Eve. Because of sin, we now have death. But because of Christ's perfect life, death on the cross, and then his resurrection into heaven, we now have life. Because of this act, when death presents itself for a believer, we are not to grieve like people who have no hope. “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” Romans 3:22.

I say all of this for two reasons. One, it's what Papa would want to be said. And two, I am compelled to speak the truth of salvation and hope in Jesus Christ to all of you. Let me close with a prayer:

God I pray that we wouldn't despair. I pray that Papa's death would point every single person back to you. I pray that many salvations will continue to come out of his legacy. That we remember and rejoice in where he has gone. He is more alive today than he ever has been. Father I pray that we look to you for our comfort. Death happens because sin entered the world. And so when we grieve, let us grieve over sin. I pray that we hate sin, and embrace you instead. Because the wages of sin are death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. Papa has a new restored body and mind in heaven, and for that we worship and adore you. Amen.”

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- Bethany

Brain Dump

August was a heavy month. I wrote only two posts (1, 2), and they both were written with a heavy heart. My heart was further grieved by the passing of my grandpa, Dearing Jones, on August 28th. And then, on a smaller scale, I've been preparing to apply to grad school/take the GRE in the midst of all of this.

I haven't mentioned it, but my other cat Walter is now gone as well. He went missing two weeks after Riggins. It's just absolutely devastating and I'm not sure the sadness of it will ever fully go away. I am doing much better now, although it's still my last thought every night before I go to bed. Levi and I have continued to have weekly dreams that we somehow found them, or they were never really gone. I still miss my cats so much, but I'm starting to feel ready for another pair. The house is just odd without them. I've started looking at the shelters around here and am hoping to get two young cats at the same time again. Grief is a weird terrible thing that I'm both glad to understand better and sad to know more about.

We had a graveside funeral and a memorial service for my grandpa earlier this week. I always envisioned this day as being full of pain and sadness and loss and tears. And while it was some of those things, it was overwhelmingly about so much more. It was about HOPE. It was about TRUTH. It was about rejoicing in the fact that my grandpa is no longer suffering from a form of dementia. He is restored and he finished the race well. The only person I know who lived a better, more dedicated life than my grandpa, is Jesus. And that's something to strive towards. I feel honored to be a part of his family, to come from his bloodline. I think that every person who attended the memorial service left with a desire to pursue Jesus more and to love people better. I'm going to make a post after this one that includes the words I was able to speak during his service.

You know what's interesting about the month of August though? I was okay. I really was.

It wasn't until I started reflecting back on the past few weeks that I realized just how much I've been going through. I can honestly say that it has only been by the power of the Lord sustaining me through his word that I've made it out. In the past, this type of month would have left me hiding in my closet in a puddle of depression and fear and sadness. But somehow, this time, that was not the case. I prevailed because of scripture. Because of my daily time in the word, the Lord sustained and persevered me. I don't see these hurdles as insurmountable! Praise God! Now, there were still those times of deep sadness, of lashing out at those I love. But it's hard to explain the difference in the way my mind worked. I didn't sense hopelessness. I was able to come back from those emotional sandboxes and regain my footing on the foundation of the gospel.

So here you are. A brain dump in the truest form. I'm both sad and joyful and okay.

Give your burdens to the Lord,

and he will take care of you.

He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Psalm 55:22