I love you

We have the best friends in the entire world, and that's the truth.
Yesterday was moving day for mother, and it was a lot of work. Yvonne was there. Jenine was there. Kara was there. Sophie was there. My sisters were there, too.
Mother had "professional" movers to do the heavy lifting. They certainly went beyond the call of duty to accomplish more than they were hired to do. Things like DROPPING THE BABY GRAND PIANO and SCRATCHING UP WALLS AND FURNITURE. Next time, we'll just throw a match to the contents of the house....it'll be cheaper.
But the friends who helped; O, I love them. Do you know, I think that Yvonne has been there for every major event in my entire life. Every one. Deaths, marriages, births, moving.
How do you get friends like that?
Several of us were joking around about saying "I love you" to people on the phone. I say that to my sisters and mom, but not really to anyone else. Someone was saying that after 30 years of friendship, you really should say that. Well, I have known Yvonne that long, and Kara, too. Some of my other friends are of a very similar quality, if not the same sort of time frame. And I am blessed with the very most excellent cousins and sisters and extended family in the world.
So here goes:
I love you, Yvonne
I love you, Kara
I love you, Jenine
I love you, Sophie
Thank you for all your help.
And what's more? I have quite a few others I could say that to, as well. I am blessed.

Moving Day

Mother is moving this very day. I have to make this fast because I have to get there with an order of Java.
I will have pictures later!
Have a great day, friends

But where has the Rum gone?

Yo Ho
Yo Ho
A Pirates life for me
Yes, I did, I saw The Movie. Sorry Kara, I had to.
Thanks to the nearly endless stream of new movie previews prior to the movie, can I just say that I am very excited for the December movie called The Golden Compass. It is going to be the one I look forward to most after July's Harry Potter release.
You see, the people who make movies have finally figured out what I love most. I will not ever watch movies about sex, and only rarely will I watch movies about violence. Mostly I like Jane Austen stories set to silver screen, or grand scale epic fantasy tales. These are what I'll pay top dollar for.
Anyway, the Pirates movie....
Will Turner is smart and loyal and very very cute. Did I mention that he's cute? Elizabeth is capable and beautiful. Jack is freaky and endearing. The storyline is pretty great. There were things in there that I wouldn't have expected, mixed up with a few things I did guess. Davy Jones locker was interesting. Keith Richards was, too. But the ending.....so tragic and beautiful. It was certianly Not the ending I had hoped for. Stay until after the credits and then tell me what you think.

Camping

So, the boys and I went camping all weekend. It was really fun. My dad has a home in the resort town of McCall, and my brother and his famly were up there visiting. The kids and I thought that we would ease the overload on daddy's house by staying in the wilderness.

The boys are always trying to talk me into camping, and so I thought we'd do well to get in camping and family visiting all at once.
Trevor and my dad rented a pontoon on Saturday, so we floated all around the lake. It was so cold, though!


Tyler got to try a marshmellow and he had this sort of Marshmellow moustashe...and beard. He really wanted to play in the campfire, and he couldn't seem to understand why we wouldn't allow him to.
I got this really great photo of Michael fishing on the dock at sunset, but I got it on my cell phone. I need to figure out if I can get that on here to show you.
Welcome back to the work week, friends.

Unstable

I just read another book. It's all of 100 tiny pages, and it's called The Little Prince. That's the second "little" book I've read this week. It's wonderful. Really wonderful. It's a children's story with deep life lessons.

This morning in my bible I read the part in James that says "a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." And I got to thinking about that. The phrase in Greek actually means something like, "Two-life-breath". So it's somebody with a split up breath of life? Someone with two different things that give animation to their being. Somebody with two driving forces in their life, that's why it's translated "double minded." It's somebody who can't make up their mind. Someone who serves two masters, I suppose. No wonder James says they are unstable.
Here's a question for you: how does a person ever get married without being double-minded? The married people I know seem to be really focused on their husbands, and God, without any problem. I am curious about that.
The single people I know are like that Bjork song "It's O So Quiet," do you know it? It's calm and very soothing and the words speak of peace, then the music gets powerfully loud and she's in love, then it stops for a moment... before repeating the cycle. It is rather a long song, and really repetitive. It's very similar to being single, only my experience has had way fewer crecendos. Ok, mabe not.
The point being, that dating (or even not dating, but simply being single with a desire to marry again) is the most distracting and mind-spliting thing ever.
Lots of Christians have written books about how to date.
Or how to not date.
Or that dating is of the Devil and God wants us courting instead.
I've read those books.
Balderdash! I hate them all. There is an abiding dirth of wisdom in all the books. Singledom is just like the rest of life. There are no pat answers. It's messy, and personal, and there's nothing for it but to sally forth with both eyes fixed on Jesus.

Wednesday...no, wait, Thursday

I told you that Jenine and I are working-out again, and we are on a super-duper diet plan. Right? It's the one where we change it up every week, so that we do not risk getting bored.
Last week, the challenge was to eat 7 servings of fruit and Veggies every day. Which works well for me. I am thinking I will keep up with that.
For this week, we are going to eliminate dessert. I am not all that big on dessert in the first place. I am more of a deep-fried fan. Sugar is not all that tempting, but oil really is. French fries. Onion rings. Tater tots. OK, I like simple carbs fried in fat.
Isn't that gross?
But, now I want sweets. Speaking a law into being has created in me this desire to do that which is forbidden. It's a biblical concept, isn't it? I am thinking of cheesecake and ice cream and that strawberry/rubarb thing that Celise makes.
I love the gym and I love hanging out with Jenine. We have these fabulous conversations. Actually, she is a really patient listener. I run off at the mouth on the treadmill, while she smiles and nods. Then, when I have finally exhausted my words, she can begin to speak. By that time we are usually over in the weight room, and then I find that I can learn something by Shutting Up and Listening. New concept. (Just in case you were wondering....I know that I talk too much, and I hate that about myself. I am working on it. ) Jenine's really brilliant, and she doesn't seem to be aware of that fact, so it's really disarming. Love that.

Painting Lisa's

We painted at Lisa's last night. We took down plaid 1980's wallpaper first. No, wait, first we poured a chilled glass of wine. Then we began the demolition.

We had to move all the furniture to the center of the room and look for the long-missing hamster while we went. We never found him. Thankfully.
Lisa has a true and remarkable gift. Her gift is like perfect pitch, only with color rather than music. It's this uncanny ability to chose the exact same
identical
Perfectly matched
color every time she goes to the paint store. Never mind that the brand is different, or the name is changed. You can paint any wall in her home from any one of a variety of cans and find the color match flawless.

She was telling me last night that she has decided to name this particular color "calm." This works for me.
I don't know how she does it. I can't get a good color match even when I chose the very same brand and color name.
Who know that demolition and painting could be so much fun? I suppose it's because I could walk away and leave the mess in her basement!

a little book

I read the loveliest little book. I sat up late last night reading and finished it this morning. It's called The Little Preacher, by Elizabeth Prentiss. My friend, Meichelle, gave it to me. What a delightful story!It's easy to read and not at all long. There is a sweetness and a goodness about it that makes me want to be better. Books like that are rare. It's a sort of Devotional, without meaning to be so.
Now that I have told you this, I am off to download photos of my fun last night, so that I can tell you what I did!

Happy Mother's Day

I have been blessed to have tremendous examples of Mothers in my life.
My Granny is 77 this year. She has loved one man all her life and raised 3 daughters. She has worked so hard, and overcome tremendous difficulty. In her own childhood, she suffered abandonment and betrayal that would have crushed a lesser girl. She is the most refined and elegant woman I have ever known.
My Mother grew up in a loving home, and then raised her own 4 girls. She had all manner of obstacles in her adult life. She had to deal with divorce, death, betrayal, and constantly shifting circumstances that would surely have crushed a lesser woman. Through it all, she was a loving and dependable Mother. She has always been practical and tenacious and quite disciplined.

I was thinking of these two this morning, and the lyrics of a particular song came to mind. I managed to find them on-line, and I have copied them below for you to read.
Determination, Self Sacrifice, Unconditional love....these are the qualities of Motherhood.

I Am Determined, by Tim Sheppard

Darkness around me,
sorrow surrounds me;
Though there be trials,
still I can sing.
For I have this treasure –
my God reigns within me,
And I am determined
to live for the King.

CHORUS:
I am determined
to be invincible
‘Til He has finished
His purpose in me.
And nothing shall shake me
For He’ll never forsake me
And I am determined
to live for the King.
Hell’s gates are trembling
from our prayers ascending
Darkness is crumbling
from praises we sing.
Our Sovereign, Victorious
is marching before us,
And we are determined
to live for the King.

CHORUS
When I am weary –
I’ll look to His face;
And when I am tempted,
I’ll trust in His grace ---
Yes, I’ll trust in His grace -----
CHORUS:
I am determined
to be invincible
‘Til He has finished
His purpose in me.
And nothing shall shake me
For He’ll never forsake me
And I am determined –
I am determined ---
I am determined
to live for My King.

Food

So, we're going to do this diet thing. Right? 'Cause that's what you do when you are almost 40 and female. Only, in a brilliant flare of creativity, we decided to change our diet every week.
See?
Isn't that brilliant?
Creative?
I figure that any diet will work if you actually stick to it. So, we're going to change it up frequently so that it doesn't get dull.
I am very excited about it. You should send me your favorite diet ideas, and I'll try them out.
Maybe.
This week's diet is a whole fruit and veggie thing. The rule of the diet is that we can eat anything we want, only we have to eat 7 servings of fruits and veggies every day. Seven. Isn't that healthy?
Yesterday, I ate
1.applesauce,
2. Orange Juice,
3. carrots,
4. pineapple,
5. an apple,
6. corn, and
7. cucumber.
I didn't have appetite for much else. Although I did manage a small hamburger, and a bit of pizza, and a slice of delicious bread with olive oil. The pizza and hamburger could perhaps suffer some reconsideration. But, I never claimed to be a saint.

D's Days

Last night, I asked my 10 year old, "D', tell me about life."
"Well," he said, "It's kind of like good mixed up with bad; all at the same time."
Smart kid.
"What is life like to you?" he asked in return.
"I agree with you that it's wonderful and terrible all mixed together. Only, I think that even the terrible tends to be such a marvelous adventure, that's it's totally worth living."
"Yeah. But do all kids have as much wonderful and terrible as we've had?" D' wondered aloud.
"I don't know, sweetie. I think we're just blessed."
"Me too."

Monday, Monday...can't trust that day

I got up this morning at 4:30 am. M' is off for his very first Turkey hunt, and he is all decked out in camo. I made him a hot breakfast, and packed his lunch, and then drove him to the rendezvous point. He's off.
Three cups of coffee have not done their job, and I am facing a day of Zombie-ness.
This weekend was eventful.
We went to shop on Friday night. That was very fun. We went to the mall, and each of us had gift certificates to spend. I bought several things to wear in my new "gee-that's-a-double-digit" size. Clothes that actually fit are sure to be more flattering than squeezing myself into clothes that no longer do. D' bought socks. Socks are important to him, he is a sock-snob. M' bought cool clothes.
Saturday evening we went to see the Harlem Globe Trotters. That was very funny. The boys and I had a wonderful time.
Sunday was Sophie's sweet sixteen birthday party. She was in diapers only yesterday. Weird.
And last night was house church. I love house church. When it was time to leave, one of the girls shut two of the little boys into a car trunk. She's really old enough to know better...though why they climbed up there in the first place is beyond me. Unfortunately, someone locked the keys in the car. There was just no way to get them out! One of the children in said trunk was my own little D'. The two were panicing at first, as you might imagine. The did calm down. What else could they do? We had to wait for the locksmith to arrive. It was about half an hour, maybe a bit more. Very exciting. I'll bet they never do that again!
And then I was up at 4:30. It's gonna be a long day.

The wisdom of married women

"Well, men are like beer mugs," Patsy patiently explained, "They are all strong and big and sturdy. Women, are more like a delicate wine glass."
I listened intently, because I don't really understand much about men.
I understand a lot about wine glasses.
"If there were only beer mugs in the church, there would be only that hard and strong part. If there were only delicate wine glasses, everybody would be leaving all the time because their feelings would always be shattered."
I thought about this for a moment.
I could see what she meant.
"If that's true," I said sadly, "I am at a disadvantage. I am single, so I have no beer mug to my wine glass."
"That's not true!" Jenine corrected me, "God is your husband."
"So, then... God is my beer mug?"

Desire, Lust, and Greed

Ha! I made you look!

I'm a little slow about some things. Actually, I have just discovered Bob Dylan. David Roper (whose books you should go buy right now) quotes him from time to time.
There is this song called "Spirit on the Water" that totally thrills my soul. It's the one I keep playing over and over. What songs are you wearing out? I do that, and I know it's so annoying to my children, but they do it, too. I pick a song and play it at very opportunity. Over and Over.
David Roper was my pastor growing up. He is gentle and wise and so very real. That's the kind of Christian I can respect.
..............................................................
Well, I have been thinking a lot about what the "desire of my Heart" could be. Interesting, because it's a term that is used in Scripture. You'll find in in Psalm 37, and 20, and around Proverbs, and even in the New Testament.
On the surface, I'd say that the desire of my heart is something like a husband and children and enough money to live without financial worry. But, God talks about giving me the desire of my heart. Since I do not have the above mentioned list, I had to really look a bit deeper.
That word for "desire" can mean several things, (accroding to my handy-dandy Strong's). It can be greed or lust or longing. In fact, Scripture talks about the evil man pursuing his own desire and getting it.
Now, that word for heart is a bit broader than it frst appears, too. It's my emotions and intellect and just the very center of myself.
I guess this means that God wants to meet the deepest longings of the center of my being. Those are a bit less superficial. Interesting, no?
Perhaps it's this Desire of Heart that seperates a Christian from a non-Christian. If you are really a Christian, than the driving need at the Center of yourself is to Love and Know the Creator of All Things. And to Be loved by Him. It's more powerful than "longing," and more honest than "greed." Every bit as compelling as "lust." But "desire," in English, does not seem a strong enough word.
I wonder if this has something to do with our common invitation to folks, "Do you want to ask Jesus into your heart?"
What if we said, "Do you want to completely turn over the very center of your being and the remainder of your life and every decision henceforth to Jesus?" How many folks would sign up for that program?
How do you define the Desire of your Heart?

get the girl more coffee

How in the world did it get to be Wednesday already? I am hopelessly sailing through time and space at an alarming rate, with the ticking away of my biological clock echoing in my ears. You'll be comforted to know that not much has changed in my world.
My house is messy, there are swarms of kids here, I am poverty stricken, yet I remain mildly cheerful. It's my nature.
The kids and I were at a fund raising thingy this weekend where they had a microphone. Microphones make me happy. There were people there whose attention I could command with the microphone thingy. I want one for my birthday.
I am going to be a chaperone on a youth group camping trip this summer. We are going to a huge concert for three days of loud Christian bands. I am so excited! I am going to revert to the age of 16 for the weekend. I was really good at being 16. I'll take pictures! It's in July, and this was why we were fund raising.
Now I think I could have a fund raiser for a new car. My plan is to get a really cool Sport Utility Vehicle with a ski rack on the top and a bike rack on the back. I'll look very athletic and cool. My budget is more 1970 V.W. Bug. My "need" is for more seat belts for my all-boy entourage. A minivan would do the trick, but that is so boring. What mom wants to drive a minivan? You might as well get a pink cadillac.
My thoughts are rambling this morning, and I am dealing with allergies. My brainwave activity is negligible.
I could not, in good concience, allow another day to pass without writing something!
Have a great day, friends.