Being Spontaneous Makes You Ugly

It has been eleven days since I last posted anything and I just have to say that my newfound freedom to be a total slacker...it is so freeing. Please know that I have not been wasting my time. I have been doing many important things, like staring out the windows, daydreaming and trying to figure out how to get my new Georgia driver's license without admitting how much I weigh. The folks at the Florida DDS are not near as nosy as they are here in Georgia. So I did what any self-respecting southern woman would do. I lied. And I don't care who knows it.

They showed me, though. The picture they took was unspeakably hideous. To be fair, that could have had something to do with the fact that my grossly infected left earlobe was bloody and swollen from twenty failed attempts at putting in my earrings. And the fact that I had food in my teeth and was wearing my finest pair of yoga pants with a t-shirt and sweat jacket. I am nothing if not elegant and well put-together.

In my defense (like I need one...sheesh) I had no prior warning that a trip to the Georgia State Patrol office was in my immediate future. My husband just showed up and said, "Hey, let's go get our Georgia drivers licenses." That very moment presented me with the choice to be one of two things for my man: flexible and spontaneous or well-groomed and attractive. So I opted for spontaneity. I should only regret that decision for the next five years or so until it is time to renew the darn thing. My only request is that if you see me, do not ask to see my license. It will not bode well for you.

Love,
Miss Spontaneity

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I Believe, Too

I spoke with a friend today whose husband is stationed overseas on military duty. The anguish in her voice was palpable as she shared with me the burden she carries here while her husband, her best friend fights for our freedom across the ocean. With all my heart I wanted to make all her heartache go away, to bring her husband home so she wouldn't have to see the pain in the eyes of their four children as they live day after long day with his absence. I wanted to fix it so she wouldn't have to face another sleepless night in their empty bed, praying that he would still be okay when she wakes up in the morning.

But all I could do was listen and cry with her, never once pretending to understand what she feels. And I prayed for His grace to surround her.

God's grace is a crazy thing. It becomes to each of us whatever it is we so desperately need and it surrounds us and carries us when we don't see how we can make it another step. We just have to fling ourselves out there in it, letting it carry us wherever He wills. Easy to say. Hard to do. I pray His grace today to military families and I thank Him for a selflessness that I do not understand but that brings Him such unspeakable delight. I pray His grace for those who fight and defend and for their families who wait and believe. I believe, too.

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How About Some Friday Jumbles...

...on Saturday. It's high time I dazzled you with my randomness.

--Living in the country is highly entertaining. This past week I watched my three sons lift a 25 lb dead armadillo onto a golf cart to haul off into the woods. Actually only my oldest boy lifted it. My middle boy alternately gagged and video taped his older brother doing the deed, while my younger boy just giggled and made puking noises. Being the highly supportive mother that I am, I stayed in the house, doubled over laughing as I watched from the window. I know, I know. I should write a parenting book.

--For the first time in maybe twenty plus years I went into a Spencer's in the mall. I don't know what possessed me to do it but I came away with these two powerful truths: 1. Spencer's is the worst smelling store in the mall, hands down, and 2. Four letter words are more shocking when seen printed on a coffee mug. Feel free to take a moment and ponder this.

--If you haven't tried the Double Chocolate Fudge Coca Cola cake from Cracker Barrel, I highly recommend that you get yourself there. Today. And I don't mean maybe. Abandon all thoughts of sharing this lusciousness with someone and just eat the whole blooming thing. You WILL thank me.

--I hope you people have a wonderous weekend. We are taking our crew to see Where the Wild Things Are. And there will be popcorn involved. Holla!

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If You've Never Failed...

You've Never Lived!

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You’re Soaking In It!

Life as I know it has returned to a state of "normal".  I will make no attempts to define "normal", although I usually do enjoy defining the completely subjective because it helps me to bring order to my already cluttered mind.  I am attempting instead to experience moments of life rather than always trying to define them.  As founder and president of the Think Things To Death Society, this is nothing short of miraculous.  Now, where was I?  Oh, yes...
Normal.  We have moved to another state, put most of our worldly possessions in storage and are currently living in someone’s guest home for a loosely determined length of time while we catch our proverbial breath and wait on God to show us what is next.  I'm sorry, did I say normal?  I meant utterly ridiculous but utterly ridiculous is the new normal and so here we are, living on a gorgeous spread of land, complete with horses in surrounding pastures,  swimming pool,  tennis court,  basketball court, workout room, and a beautiful home with every creature comfort possible.  The sheets with the incredibly high thread count are, in my opinion, just the cherry on top.  And if there is a down side to all of this it would only be that there are around a dozen deer and elk heads hanging on the walls in the great room and I swear they stare at me when I play pool in my pajamas.
Oswald Chambers talks about being "put into soak before God".  The innermost life is where the real action is, after all, and there are times when God pulls us away from the shop window, where most church leaders live, to receive, transform, and soften in the quiet solitude of soaking.  I am just amazed at where He has us now and so I will be here, soaking and hopefully transforming.  Softening...like in that Palmolive commercial from the 70's.  It is a good day when you can combine serious spiritual content with nostalgic television commercials.  That's why I am here, people.  That's why I'm here.

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Goodnight House and Goodnight Mouse

It is four days until moving day and all of our belongings are jumping into boxes by themselves while a roll of packing tape zips through the house, seeking cardboard that needs sealing. I WISH! Actually, it is all going pretty well and on schedule. It is sad how much I love those two words..."on schedule", but there it is and I cannot change who I am so instead I embrace my love of order and schedule.

That being said, I did linger a bit in our guest room as I packed up the tangible remains of the life of my mother. For those of you just tuning in here, my mother lived with me for the final year of her life and this month marks two years that she has been gone. The day after her memorial service, I took all of her things that I wanted to keep and shoved them into a closet in our guest room and so it has taken me a little while to touch and smell each thing before putting it in a box. I gazed around the guest room that she called home for her final year of life and remembered so many conversations we had and thought of all the old black and white movies we watched together, and I wondered to myself if the empty place she left inside me would ever stop aching. I suspect not.

My husband and I have lived in lots of houses in many different cities, a path we chose together nearly twenty-one years ago when we agreed to go wherever God said and pour our hearts and lives into others. But this is the first time I have felt sad about leaving a house. Some of our friends have had the experience of raising their families in one place, maybe even one house, and there have been times I have envied them. But just briefly. I love all the amazing people we have met and friendships we have formed by living in different places and, while this way of life wreaks havoc on your finances, it does bring heaven to your heart. Still, leaving this house hurts and I am trying to make time to feel what I feel, grieving a little over the ending of a season of my life that was searingly painful and deliciously wonderful all at the same time. How I am feeling reminds me of my very favorite children's story that my mother read to me when I was small, Goodnight Moon. Each page shows the little bunny saying goodnight to different things in his room until he finally tells the moon goodnight. It is important to say goodnight to the the places and seasons and people that matter.

Goodnight Lake City. Goodnight Christian Heritage Church. Goodnight house!

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When God Closes a Home He Opens a Window

Let me start by giving credit for my catchy little title to my friend, Tim Smith. His sense of humor...it is so choice.

Now, down to business. If you are just tuning in, I have been chronicling our journey into the unknown and you can catch up by clicking here, here, here and here. We have been packing and praying, trusting that when our house closes in two short weeks we will not be homeless. Homeless was just not on our list of options. I am kidding of course, but my point is that we have been growing short on time (yesterday marked eight days left until moving day) and long on uncertainty. The amazing thing about following God is that even when circumstances appear uncertain, God is a sure thing.

Every time.

Just not according to my timetable, which we waved bye-bye to long ago.

So...the night before last we received an offer to move our family into the guest home of some very dear people. Wow! This offer will afford our family an opportunity to rest, pressure-free, and to "lie beside still waters" so that He can "restore our souls." This totally confirmed that the Lord wants us in Valdosta, GA for this season of time that we know in our hearts is still transitional. There will be more ministry ahead for us and we know in our hearts that God has us in a holding pattern for now. And holding patterns are not so bad when you know Who is holding you.

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