July 2009

I am a pack rat. So is my dear husband. My kids – not quite so much, but they haven’t lived as long. But this packing my kids up for their move across the country has changed my thinking about all of the “stuff” we’ve got buried in boxes in the basement. When was the last time I looked at my mug collection? I mean seriously! Why am I keeping umpteen zillion coffee mugs? Truth is, I’ve had a few favorites over the years (used mainly for tea – I only recently started to drink coffee) and always use those same ones. My favorites have changed, so why keep the old ones?

Now of course, some of this pack-ratted-ness has come in handy for my boys. It has saved them from having to buy dishes, silverware, a Foreman Grill, a coffee pot, a tea kettle, pans, bowls, (did I mention coffee mugs), glasses, and all kinds of Tupperware that I don’t know why I was saving. Who honestly puts their ketchup and mustard or ice cream in containers other than what they came in? Why did I buy these things?

Sending them off with stacks of boxes is helping shed some of the clutter from our house. And that’s a good thing. And the rest? I’m making boxes for the donation center, so if you shop at Salvation Army, you might find some of my coffee mugs!

But this is also helping me realize what little value there is in “stuff.” We can’t take it with us when we die, so why do we hang onto it if we’re not using it? My grandma used to say, “if you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it.” I’m not sure I quite agree with Grandma, but she did have a point. Too often, I have been unable to just throw it away, so I pack it in a box and put it someplace where I forget it exists. Then when I find it, I realize I didn’t really need to keep it after all.

I’m determined to go through each room one by one and part with the no-longer-needed-or-desired items. Some are worth keeping and passing down, but I daresay most of what we save will end up in someone else’s trash heap someday. I’d rather save them (probably my kids) the trouble.

I suppose even having your kids move out can have a silver lining. But I’m still going to miss them!

Reading is a great escape for me, especially during times of stress. My favorite book, the greatest story of all time, is The Bible. As I read, I see the stories unfold in my mind’s eye, played out like a film on a screen. So many things are captured in the details. So many questions it raises and answers.

For instance, I’m reading Mark right now and in one place Jesus tells his disciples to have a boat ready in case the crowd presses him too hard, so he can have an escape lest they crush him. Whereas another time, he walked right through a crowd that wanted to throw him off a cliff. One he did supernaturally, while the other was a purely human escape. Why the difference? Perhaps due to the temperament of the crowd or to show his power only when he chose. I don’t know as I haven’t studied it enough yet, but find such details fascinating.

Or ponder this – John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit from birth. Did John ever have a choice not to be God’s messenger? Would he have wanted to? Of course, motives are not often given, but that’s where continued study and imagination comes in. But God has given us such great material from the lives of these people to consider! There is no better book to guide our steps, guard our hearts, and give our minds exactly what we need to know Him – in more ways than I can number.

This week, as I am helping my sons get ready for California, I’ve been thinking about Abram and Sarai being told to leave everything they knew and move to a land they didn’t know. Abram was 75 years old when they set out, and they took their father (who was much older) with them for part of the journey, but ended up waiting to continue the journey until their father died. Living with this whole moving-across-the-country thing has given me a new appreciation for how Sarai must have felt in not wanting to leave her father. If God told us to move across the country to join our kids, I couldn’t leave my parents either. Not easily.

All that to say, my number one recommended book to read and savor is The Bible. I will never outgrow my fascination with it or love for its Words. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” A Book that will last forever.

While the Bible could be my only book for a lifetime and I would never grasp it all, I do believe God gave us gifts and the enjoyment of reading the work of other authors. Since I love fiction, I am always accumulating more books for my TBR pile. Two recent reads have moved off that stack.

Chateau of Echoes by Siri Mitchell. Set in contemporary and ancient France, this story captivated me from the beginning. Wonderful characters and you will come away with a new appreciation for all things French. :)

Next on my list was a book from author Melanie Dobson. The book is Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana, a historical pre-civil war drama and love story that taught me much about the Underground Railroad while at the same time drawing me in to the stories of Anna and Daniel. Enjoyable read.

I started a new book after I finished Melanie’s story last night. Ezekiel’s Shadow by David Ryan Long. My son discovered it on his bookshelf as he was packing – a book I didn’t realize we had but snapped it up as I’ve heard good things about this story, and it looked intriguing.

My galley edits for Abigail came today! I skimmed my editor’s comments and am looking forward to making her suggested changes. I thank God for this woman. She never makes a suggested change without giving me a helpful solution. Such a joy to work with!

Shalom~

Here’s a response from my friend Judith Peitsch with her list of things that annoy and inspire her.

Annoy:
1. Sticky kitchen floors
2. A fly in the house
3. Bullies
4. Crowded stores
5. Computers
6. Cell Phones
7. Car race drivers in the parking lot

Inspire:
1. Playing the Piano
2. Meaningful Hugs
3. Being able to see the colors / hear the sounds / smell the smells
4. Good Books
5. Baking the perfect cake
6. Babies – in various shapes and forms (ha!)
7. “Please” and “Bless You” and “Thank You”

Any other comments? Email me on my contacts page. Coming up next – some new recommended books I’ve read.

Selah~

I probably shouldn’t admit to this, but sometimes things annoy me. You too? Oh good. I don’t feel so bad then, knowing I’m not the only one! Then again, some things inspire me too. Those are the things I’d rather focus on, but I thought I’d share both lists. So here you go: (Pictures are only of things that inspire me.) :)

Seven things that annoy me:

1. People who ride their bicycle in the street with the cars when there is a perfectly good sidewalk right beside said street.

2. Having to return a supposed perfectly good, brand new item to the store because it’s defective or missing something from a sealed box.

3. Reviewers and critics who give unasked for reviews or advice anonymously.

4. Movies, TV Shows, Books, etc. that misrepresent facts because they didn’t do their research.

5. Recipes that have mislabeled ingredients, like too much milk added to a waffle batter, which would make them too runny and the end product too thin.

6. Solicitors who call a “do not call number” and pretend the call isn’t trying to sell you something.

7. Music that is made up of continually repeated phrases or a chorus that gets sung over and over and over again.

Seven things that inspire me:

1. Successful people who are truly humble and don’t seem to notice how impressive they are.

2. Stories that don’t end like I expected or that surprised me in a good way.

3. Visual arts that let me live in another world, transporting me there – suspending my disbelief in a believable manner.

4. Music with creative, profound lyrics.

5. Delectable dark chocolate and recipes that make me want to repeat them.

6. Majestic mountains, colorful sunsets, lakes like glass, ancient forests, the world beneath the oceans, airplane rides above the clouds, a million stars on the blackest night.

7. The Hebrew language and names for God and their meanings in that language. Adonai Elohai, The Lord my God – and above all else – God Himself.

So those are my lists. I think I am more inspired now for having recalled them. :) There will always be things that annoy or frustrate us – it comes with life. But I’m glad God gives us the good to inspire as well.

Care to share your lists with me? With permission, perhaps I can post a few here.

Shalom~

Sometimes in the busyness of a day, I find myself overwhelmed with longing. This longing is not for the things I normally desire or crave. It won’t be satisfied by a hug from family or a conversation with friends or any amount of chocolate. It’s an ache deep inside that defies normal wants and needs – a yearning for God at a level that transcends any earthly relationship.

Sometimes I’m driving in my car or working around the house when this longing hits me, and I wish I could drop what I’m doing and curl up with my Bible and just read and read and read.

There have been days (usually on a Sunday afternoon) when I’ve taken a big chunk of time and read an entire book of Scripture, or spent time studying and searching and trying to find an answer to a question raised in the reading. It is during those times that the longing is quenched, the thirst satisfied. And it lasts yet doesn’t last. Eventually, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life seeps in and tries to shove the yearning for God away – to relegate it to a place of unimportance.

I can’t live on a mountaintop or hide in a monastery to maintain or fulfill this longing. And I don’t have to. God meets me where I am and is there in the whispers, the quiet of everyday life. He listens as I pray throughout the shopping trips or praise along with the CDs in my car. He instills joy as I create and gently nudges me to keep my appointments and esteem my relationships. But though He is there in the stuff of normalcy, He is also the one making me aware that I have that empty space inside of me that only He can fill – urging me to know Him as I am known.

To know Him takes time and effort. Relationships of any sort are kept or lost depending on how much time we spend with the person. Knowing God is no different. But it starts with me paying attention to that longing when it rises up to challenge me to find a quiet place and feed on the Words that can satiate that hunger. And I dare say, when I do listen, the rewards are great – and no amount of earthly satisfaction can compare.

Selah~