A Sunday Kind of Love

Posted on August 16, 2012 by clairerhoads

This morning at Starbucks, I heard Etta James’ “A Sunday Kind of Love” over the airwaves. I stopped in my tracks (when Etta’s on, you’d best listen). As the jazzy, philosophical lyrics seeped into my brain, I realized that this song rings truer than Etta probably ever realized.

Ladies, we need a Sunday kind of love.

And by that, I mean a love that never fails. The kind of love that quenches our deepest yearnings.

A Divine Love.

Monday, Tuesday or Thursday love from men, children, dresses and jobs just doesn’t satisfy. Sometimes they let you down – even the best men (or dresses).

I want a Sunday kind of love
A love to last past Saturday night
And I’d like to know it’s more than love at first sight
And I want a Sunday kind of love
Oh yea yea

I want a a love that’s on the square
Can’t seem to find somebody
Someone to care
And I’m on a lonely road that leads to no where
I need a Sunday kind of love

I do my Sunday dreaming, Oh yea
And all my Sunday scheming
Every minute, every hour, every day

Oh I’m hoping to discover
A certain kind of lover
Who will show me the way

And my arms need someone
Someone to enfold
To keep me warm when Mondays and Tuesdays grow cold
Love for all my life to have and to hold
Oh and I want a Sunday kind of love
Oh yea yea yea

I don’t want a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday, Friday or Saturday
Oh nothing but Sunday oh yea
I want a Sunday Sunday
I want a Sunday kind of love
Oh yea
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday kind of loooove

Jesus is a Sunday kind of lover. He’s there past Saturday night. He leads you somewhere. Shows you the way. He keeps you warm when Mondays and Tuesdays grow old. Even when you don’t deserve it. Don’t believe me? Try it.

“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” -Jeremiah 31:25

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” -Psalm 90:14

2nd anniversary. tea bags. cinque terre.

Posted on July 11, 2012 by clairerhoads

Two years ago today, I done got me wed.

As I was reminiscing over the last year, I couldn’t help but think about our amazing Italian/British world tour last fall. The memory that came to mind was our visit to the Cinque Terre, five tiny, coastal Italian towns embedded in the rocky cliffs. Specifically, our walk along Villa dell’Amore (Lover’s Path), the path that allowed young lover’s from Town 1 and Town 2 to meet up back in the day. The path is riddled with all sorts of “love graffiti” and locks attached to any surface as a proclamation of love (amidst other strange items attached as well).

We got there and realized… we have nothing to leave a mark of our love! What were we to do?? Our visit (and love??) wouldn’t feel complete if we didn’t participate in this old tradition.

So, I rustled around in my purse and found the only thing that was remotely shaped as something that could be attached to prove our amore – an old tea bag (Trader Joe’s chamomile, naturally). Do not ask me why that was in my purse. But my fabulous husband said, “Alright, let’s do it. Let’s tea bag the Cinque Terre.” And so, we etched our names gently onto the tea bag, tied it to the path rail, and watched it flutter vigorously in the sea air, a banner of our love and commitment.

At this point, you may be wondering:

a.) How grotesque they are!

b.) How is this at all romantic… you just ruined the most romantic place on earth.

c.) WHY would you recall this and blog about it on your anniversary?

Well, really, we’re harmless – that’s the only time we used that phrase. Heck, I barely even knew what it was! And if you know me, you know how I get into trouble that way. And here is why I share this, possibly my favorite story from our trip – after two years (we’re no veterans!) we have learned that laughter is one of the gifts of grace that God gives us to stay in love. Yes, even slightly inappropriate laughter. Man alive, did we laugh hard! And it embodied what I love about my husband – he’s game. He’s up for it. He’s in on the adventure, even if it means we have to do things in an unconventional way.

3 Things I love about my husband on this 2nd anniversary:

He puts up with all the bobby pins and hair wookies that this lady creates and he cleans the drains! AND makes the wookie sound every. single. time.
He wakes up, in the middle of the night, to comfort and help me during a breakdown (doesn’t happen often, thank God!)
He tea bagged the Cinque Terre with me.

Happy Anniversary, my Southern Gentleman, my HOBL, my friend!

San Francisco –> Charleston. For keeps.

Posted on April 23, 2012 by clairerhoads

Well, we’re hitting the open r(h)oads again. I hope you like that double entendre. I wrote it just for you.

The rumors (mostly started by me) are true – we are packing up our bags, leaving the SF Bay Area that I grew up in, and moving cross country to Charleston, South Carolina, gem of the south, heart of lowcountry, home of history and large bugs and gators (or so I’m told) (see earlier posts on CHS here and here). My Southern Gentleman got a fab job offer in Charleston, and so we felt God’s leading to reconnect with his roots (arborist joke), join his sister and bro-in-law, and embark on a new grand adventure. When the king of the universe beckons you on an adventure, you fall in line, you know what I’m sayin?

So, we find ourselves in utter upheaval. It’s funny how change brings excitement and the feeling of being “alive”, but also brings an onslaught of fears, anxieties, and unknowns. There are a lot of complex emotions going on in our home right now and I’ll just be real and say that 98% of them are mine, haha!

A taste of my inner dialogue:

How are we going to purge all this crap in time for the movers? Do I really need this 4th spatula? Do they have Sur La Table out there? Where will we live? Should we avoid old historic homes because of the flying cockroaches? Will our massive NASA-launch-pad sectional couch fit anywhere? What the heck am I going to wear? How hot is it really? Will the humidity affect my hair and turn me into the blonde Diana Ross?? Will I fit in? Do I want to fit in? Will I miss the cooky Bay Area? Is there innovation there? Am I allowed to say what I’m really thinking? Will we find a good, gospel-centered church where people are just being real and living life under Jesus together? How will I meet people if I’m working from home remotely? Who will my friends be? Will I have friends? Will I feel like I’m in The Help? Do I get to drink mint juleps on a porch in a rocking chair? Will I be pressured to fake bake because of my genetically translucent white skin, because if yes, so help me God I will lash out! It’s not my fault!

Aren’t you glad you’re not in my mind all the time? It’s a scary place!

But in the midst of all the uncertainty, there is also an absolutely thrilling feeling. I am an adventuress. I always have been. When I can get past the fear and just jump, my adventures are always followed by times of incredible growth, joy and depth. I recently heard a sermon by Francis Chan about why we’re all so bored in the church these days. We’ve got our satellite campuses, our fancy, air-conditioned, audio-enabled sanctuaries, ready to hear about the message for the week. We wonder why God isn’t doing crazy, magical, earth shattering things and why we can’t feel Him. Meanwhile, the Bible shows that God manifested his crazy big power and presence when his people were taking big, hairy, scary risks for Him. Not sitting safely in comfort.

I realized that I have been craving an adventure. I’m bored. I want to feel alive – that feeling of “I really feel alive because there’s a chance I could not be!” This doesn’t have to be extreme sports. This can happen in the heart. My HOBL’s and my life phrase right now comes from Mark Twain:

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.”

So. Here we are. Creeping out on a (southern) limb, in search of fruit. Stay tuned.

Here’s our new house. Jk.

Here we are, dancing the Charleston in 1925. We look so young!…

Roma, Orvieto: catacombs, crumbling cities, calf’s thymus

Posted on October 4, 2011 by clairerhoads

Days 3 – 5 have been a mix of exciting sites, adventures, food…but also travel annoyances and mishaps.

As we took it easy on Saturday (read: slept till 11), we took in some more local sites which I won’t mention much about here (Jewish ghetto, Pantheon, piazza navona, st. Ignasio and its 3-D paintings, trevi fountain). We also ate a delicious meal at Rick Steves’ recommended Osteria al Bric. Matt has insisted that we record EVERY meal in detail so that we can recreate later (lots of truffle, mostly black… It’s in season!). Rick’s night walk was also delightful.

Sunday we set our caps on the Catacombs of St. Callisto, just outside the city walls. This ancient christian burial site in Rome started being used around 100AD. It’s outside the city walls because an first century decree forbade burying the dead in city walls (Romans mostly cremated). As we shared earlier, the catacomb part of the Vatican museum was amazing so we were extremely interested to see where all of those artifacts came from.

We walked past the old Circus Maximus (you know no biggie) and hopped a bus the the Appia Antica (Ancient Appian Way). This was one of our highlights – The AA is so tranquil and beautiful, lined with sprawling villas old and new, and as you stroll along the original stones of a 2,000+ year old highway, complete with chariot wheel grooves, you can’t help but feel like you’re part of the history. We thought about renting bikes to ride it but after seeing international tourist after tourist fly off their bike and scream obscenities in every native tongue, we opted out.

Our catacomb tour took us deep down into the burial chambers and tiny worship nooks. As wealthier Romans became Christians, they shared their property with poorer, oppressed Christians who couldnt pay for a place to bury their dead when they “fell asleep” before the return of Jesus. As persecution increased and Christians were being hunted down, they would hide here for the day. The walls had crumbling leftovers (darn those barbarians that ruined EVERYTHInG historical) of beautiful mosaics and frescoes as well as touching epitaphs.

On the way back from the catacombs we got lost for 2 hours (insert marital conflict #1) and almost had a meltdown. Italian transportation is ridiculous. Modern day Italians have really strayed from their organized, civil engineering ancestors. It ain’t pretty but it’s the truth. Dinner in Trastevere helped however.

On Monday we gladly departed Rome via train for Orvieto. Unlike the annoying American tourists we saw at the cafe the day before (beefy dude wearing a cutoff bodybuilder.com tshirt, carrying 12 fake Gucci bags, screaming “I can’t believe I got these here gucci bags so cheap!!”) we met the most amazing older couple on the train. They were from LA, almost on the same itinerary as us. Peggy and John, originally from NYC, are an actor and horseshoe retailer respectively. We had great laughs and convos the whole way and plan to meet up in Cinque Terre next week!

We picked up our rental car in Orvieto and low and behold, Matts GPS was not getting signal. We had no real road maps or directions and we were in the Italian countryside. (insert marital conflict número due). After some very calm (cough) arguing with interested Italian old men looking on, we decided to just drive and hope for the best. Success! Praise God, he knew that if that durned GPS didn’t start working, the holy Rhoads union might be at risk. He spared us further calamity and it started working.

Now is where our favorite part comes – Civita di Bagnoregio. If you come to Italy ever, you MUST see this little hill town precariously perched high up on an eroding crag. It was the stuff Italian dreams are made of. We parked as Rick told us under the foot bridge in Bagnoregio and walked up the steep footbridge (the original eroded away) to this town in the clouds. But not before seeing some interesting bathroom signs – toilet for men and …. Segway riders OR handicapped people. You decide:

We took some video to try to capture the sights but I just learned that I can’t upload onto wordpress- awesome!

Ok, I’ve run out of time so our horrifying and funny dinner story from last night’s agriturismo will have to wait…

Ciao!

Roma: Day 2 in the Eternal City

Posted on October 1, 2011 by clairerhoads

We are simply having an absolutely amazing time already. Our 16 hour journey, while long, was blissfully uneventful and full of sleeping (mostly for Matt, who can sleep ANyWHERE. Drives me crazy) with a refreshing respite in London Heathrow to tide us over until our longer visit later.

We arrived in Rome in the evening and found our B&B, located in the ancient Jewish Ghetto neighborhood, right in the heart of the city. Our room is great for Rome standards and perhaps the most exciting feature for Matt is the bidet. “I want to use it but it scares me.”

We got in and felt some new found energy and so decided to walk around the quaint, narrow neighborhood streets in search of a late dinner (typical for Italians). As we strolled down the cobbled streets, hand in hand, warm summer breeze blowing through the ancient, tall buildings, I couldn’t help but feel that life on this earth can’t get much better. And then we tasted the made-to-order tiramisu at our outdoor cafe. I almost died. Amazing stuff, and I don’t even LIKE tiramisu usually.

Yesterday was our marathon sightseeing day. We’re still in bed recovering, in fact (Matt is, as usual, sleeping). In the morning, we walked the 2 miles to the Vatican City to start our day-long private tour with Mr. Giancarlo Alu. My parents got a private tour with him 3 years ago and recommended him highly. Giancarlo is a delightful and passionate 70 year old archeologist and art historian. He has spoken around the world (Princeton, Oxford) and owns multiple historic properties in Italy (which he invited us to stay at but our schedule didn’t work – gahh!). We shared that we were most interested in early Christian history and amazingly, that is his specialty! He was very excited about that and actually stayed with us longer than planned because “you both have beautiful positive auras around you and I am having fun.” ( ok, so a little quirky. Aura? Jet lag? Who knows)

Giancarlo took us through the early christian museum where we saw marble sarcophagi from the Christian catacombs. The engravings depicted beloved scenes from the bible, including Jesus healing people, etc. Everything had the early symbol for Christians on it – the Che-Rho. The Chi-Rho (pronounced “KEE-roe”) is a symbol consisting of the intersection of the capital Greek letters Chi (Χ) and Rho (Ρ), which are the first two letters of “Christ” in Greek (ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, Christos). The cross was not used until later, as it was still a “sensitive” image for early Christians. A particularly somber sight was a capstone for a young boy that translated – here is XX, may he rest in peace with christos, he was 8 years old, a martyr. These artifacts were from the height of persecution for Christians in Rome, around 280 AD. What struck us is that because they had to remain so secret about their worship, they took every opportunity to express their faith outwardly in simple things like cups, oil lamps, and silverware. We even saw the first ever Christian accessories – a chi-Rho ring and ichthus(fish) necklace!

These were such a stark contrast to the ornateness of the later popes’ treasures. Let me just put it this way – the pope has got a lotta bling in his crib, ok? St. Peter’s Basilica is….whoa. It is so grandiose that it takes your breath away. Scale is the big wow factor there- it is just so huge. The tiny-looking gold lettering toward the ceiling is actually 6 feet tall.

The Sistine chapel was, of course, breathtaking. Hopefully my pics will appear below. This wordpress for iPad app is kinda sketchy!

After visiting the Coloseum and roman forum, we hit the gelateria (drool) and then a ristorante near our place featuring traditional roman jewish dishes ( fried artichoke, etc). Our young, virile waiter insisted that we order the ossobucco and wouldn’t take the dish away until Matt ate the bone marrow, which he says his father told him to eat lots of – “It make-a you strong-a for the ladies” (!)

Because yesterday’s miles and stairs made our butts and feet scream out in pain, we’re taking it easy today to enjoy a little dolce vita (sweet life).

Ciao for now!

Euro Adventure: Come with us to Italy/England!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by clairerhoads

Well, I am beside myself with excitement. Things have been a little quiet around Open R(h)oads because we Rhoadses have been planning/preparing for an epic Euro adventure. Tomorrow, we depart for Italy, where we will be for almost two weeks before a jaunty trip to London, my old stomping grounds, and then back home to the SF Bay Area.

We have 3 main missions for this trip:

1) Fall more in love.

(Wow, how did they dig up that old pic of my Southern Gentleman and I in front of the Trevi Fountain??)

2) Stuff our faces with drool-worthy cuisine.

3.) Learn stuff about God’s creation and people.

What can I say? We’re simple folk.

We so wish you all could come with us. So… we thought it would be fun to blog about our adventures in each city as we go from my trusty new iPad! So, kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride. The good news is you won’t get your wallet stolen. ;)

Ciao for now,

Claire

My Own Royal Wedding: Help Me Pick!

Posted on April 27, 2011 by clairerhoads

With the impending royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton just around the corner, I’ve been thinking a lot about my very own “royal wedding” that took place last summer (July 11th). I had no idea how fast time would fly in this first year of marriage. It’s gone by so fast, yet feels like it’s been a lifetime, you know?

Back before I was married, I never quite grasped the depth of marriage – even in the deepest depth of my soul (that’s deep, folks) I couldn’t help but think of marriage as one dimensional. Cute, fluffy, etc. I mean, I knew it was tough and that it wasn’t rainbows and butterflies, but it wasn’t until I actually entered into this mysterious and metaphorical bond that I realized how expansive marriage is. I couldn’t (and still can’t) quite explain it to my single friends in just a few words – “It’s good, but hard, but… deep, but satisfying, but revealing, but humiliating, but comforting, but joyful, but fun, but… life changing”. I thought long and hard, and the only word I could think of that could somewhat sufficiently express all those things without sounding dismissive or fluffy was…

Worthwhile.

Marriage is so, so, so worthwhile. When you hear that, don’t you just think of something weighty and amazing, but get the connotation that it didn’t come without effort? Despite the hardships, challenges, and soul-baring surgery that happens, it is so worth the wonderful influence it has on us as well as the great joy and companionship that comes from it. And God is ever-present, ready to help your union in times of trouble. Remind me of that next time I’m in a kerfuffle, okay? Also, remind my husband when he has to deal with me (teehee).

So, anyhoo, we have a very long-delayed wedding task that we need your help to complete. Our wonderful wedding photographers and friends, Candace and Vitaliy Prokopets of Prokopets Studio, gave us two free prints of any of our wedding or engagement photos and we STILL haven’t decided! I want to use and frame two of our engagement photos because our session was so fun and the photos have a lot of our personality in it. I want to remember how I felt when I was preparing to be Mrs. Southern Gentleman.

Below are the five we’ve narrowed it down to. Which ones do you like the best? Don’t be shy – leave your opinions in the “comments” section of this post. Male and female opinions are equally (cough) valued!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Thanks for your superior aesthetic advice. Note – If you’d like to learn more about Prokopets Studio, check out their fab blog. You can also read about our love story in their post about our Engagement photo shoot or view some of our wedding photos in a different post.

P.S. – If you are my mother or mother-in-law and reading this post, I swear I am sending photo discs to you… tomorrow…or the next day… or… well, they’re coming, I promise!

Easter 2011

Posted on April 25, 2011 by clairerhoads

I woke up so cheerful (apart from my clogged sinuses) on Easter morning. I love Easter! Pastel colors, warm weather, and most of all, what is celebrated. It seems perfectly planned that we celebrate the new life we have because of Jesus’ death and resurrection during a time when the earth is literally bursting with verdant new life. I am a great fan of metaphors and that fills up my metaphor love-tank.

My parents and sister came over and from there we went to our church’s Easter service and then returned to our place for some good ‘ole lamb and potatoes. Results of the whoopee cushion antics are below…

Here’s my sister with the set Easter table. Does it look kind of like someone just threw a bunch of stuff on the table and called it “eclectic”? If so, that would be correct. Oops! I was sick and had to get creative. I actually like how it turned out! I also like my husband’s hot buns in that shot.

My Dad was in charge of marinating the lamb chops. Part of that, obviously, is stabbing rosemary branches into each chop to surprise unsuspecting diners. Ow…

We’re a quirky bunch.

And then, Mom discovered the individual wine pouches…

Even Moose the Dog was having a grand old time.

Here’s my HOBL (hunk of burning love) doing what he does best.

You might recall our purchase of a whoopee cushion the other day? Well, we set it up perfectly and awaited the moment when we would all sit down at the table. My poor, unsuspecting father walked right into the trap and when he sat down, the whoopee cushion really let it rip. Everyone gasped and then looked around awkwardly. My father, ever the actor, feigned embarrassment – “Oops!” Then he hid it under my mother’s chair, which was infinitely more funny.

This conversation led to some reminiscing about how my mother used to make my sister and I use the more polite and gentle term, “bottom burp”, when we were young. Raise your hand if you think that’s way, way worse?!

Hi, my name is Claire and I need to get my roots touched up.

Moose in dog ecstasy.

Sunday’s A-comin’: Good Friday Reflections

Posted on April 22, 2011 by clairerhoads

Earlier this week, a friend sent me a “Good Friday Reflections” email that contained a great snippet from Philip Yancey:

A friend of mine knows an elderly pastor who delivered a stirring Good Friday sermon titled “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Comin’.” In a cadence that increased in tempo and volume, his sermon contrasted how the world looked on Friday—when the forces of evil seemed to have triumphed—with how it looked on Sunday. The disciples who lived through both days never doubted God again. They learned that when God seems most absent, He may be closest of all.

This really got me thinking. That dark, tragic Friday death could only be called “good” because of the glorious resurrection on Sunday. It’s the beautifully ironic, biblical truth that sometimes, when it seems like things are going horribly wrong, God is working unbelievable right good in it. It’s pretty outrageous, and you may be pounding your fist right now, but it’s true. The hard part is waiting through the Saturday to get to the glorious Sunday. I’ve been feeling like I’m stuck in a “Saturday” waiting period lately. Are you in a “Saturday”? Let me remind you and me that… Sunday’s a-comin’!

You might like this blog if…

Posted on April 8, 2011 by clairerhoads

Ok, I’m getting back on the bandwagon. I have too many funny stories, interesting experiences and passionate convictions not to be blogging. Also, I’m in Social and Digital Marketing so I really need to be eating my own dog food here. As of now, I know two people who will be reading this: My sister and two fellow blogger friends who have encouraged me (read: kicked my butt) into gear.

If nothing else, I hope this blog serves as a welcome break from your work. A chance to laugh it up, learn something new (perhaps you’re not familiar with Jane Austen or guns?). Perhaps even be encouraged.

While simultaneously munching on some Sour Patch Kids, I’ve compiled a list of topics which, if you’re at all interested in, might lead you to enjoy this blog:

Jane Austen (or other Regency period anglo-lit)
Guns
Hunting (turkey, deer, etc… you name it, if it’s alive and it’s not human, my husband might be stalking it)
Marriage/Relationships
Marketing
Food
Embarrassing Stories
Creativity (crafts, design, exhibits, etc)
Singing
The Christian Life (ain’t so glamorous, but it’s good)
The Great Outdoors (and sometimes the Not So Great Outdoors)
Travel
Random Humorous Miscellany

As you can see, we cast a wide net here in the Rhoads Abode. Hopefully, there will be something for everyone. Happy weekending!

Open R(h)oads

A city girl. A country boy. Hitting the open r(h)oads of life.

Category Archives: Christian Life