Well Come 2008!

i no longer make New Year's Resolutions. There was a time when i had a wee list that i'd studiously compose and attempt to adhere to as long as my young mind could stand. But inevitably after a month or so, the list was long forgotten, stuck in some book or drawer, only to be found 3 years later, laughed at and tossed out.

i began a different tradition years ago that i still hold to, however, and find much more endearing. i make a list of fun and interesting things to do for the next year. The list does not have to be finished, or held to it exactly. It is rather a guide, a page of possibility. A page of serious hilarity and wholehearted earnestness. Every year should begin with some sort of fervor.

2008 is no different. And so here is the list. i do enjoy a good list...Here's 8 for 2008.

1) Discover the joy of dancing before the Lord
2) Learn to make balloon animals
3) Feed a monkey, by hand, in Asia
4) Live the 1st Commandment
5) Take tap dancing lessons
6) Serenade someone (perhaps they should be deaf...)
7) Create a world class chili recipe
8) Introduce the joy of bubbles to someone

Caramel center kind of life

When you get the dark chocolate truffle filled with the creamy caramel center and you take the first warm gooey bite, that moment, that delight filled moment is one to be celebrated!

When you open a box from far away and find the perfect bauble or do-dah and hold that something in your hand that a dear one held in their hand and chose for you. Sheer joy.

Or when the phone rings and the voice on the other end soothes your busy mind with its message of love and support. That second is happiness.

It is the small, tiny fractions of time that add joy and vibrancy to life. It is the moments, the seconds, the freeze frame images of people and places, sounds and smells that come back to haunt us in nostalgic days and dreaming evenings.

This moment, watching the snow fall and paint the world white was stellar.

Watching Oliver with his Dad, both watching the world turn into a flakey white place was awesome.

Smelling the fresh cinnamon rolls that Cheryl made, and snapping the bakery pamphlet perfect image of them. Priceless.
It's a busy time of year for most of us. Many of my friends are stressed to the max with finals and papers and lack of motivation. And yet, in the middle of panic mode, we have all found our caramel center seconds. The seconds that make our days worth their weight in gold.

Paging Dr. Ama

my roommate and i have a new phrase. whenever the gossip, hoopla, idiocy and drama begins to swirl, this tiny phrase is what gets shouted out.

'Paging Dr. Ama. Paging Dr. Ama'
(say it... it makes more sense when you verbalize it...)

the tendency to be overwhelmed by the drama, by the stories i hear and live, tends to be easy for me. it's not that i want some stage production of my life, or the details of everyone's daily life broadcast about constantly, but i think there is something to it all.

i want to know. i want to be invested in others. what happens to my friends and family matters to me. the time i take to listen and respond is important. the gift of attention creates a bond of intimate connection that can never really be broken. it is in the listening, the being present for the story of someone, that you prove they matter.

and really, in all of the show, i want to know i matter to someone too.

(For God so loved me, that He sent Jesus - John 3:16 JV)

Reflections

The sunset off the glass of some houses near Silver Beach, MI.

The sun shines on them and they shine back. They are not the sun, but they glow like the sun.

The Son shines on me and i shine back. i am not the Son, but i can glow from His glory.
Do i reflect God? Can others see Him in me?

Sunset swinging

Makes you want to swing hey?

It was as if the sky was the biggest movie theater ever and i was the sole patron in the theater. The wind was whipping past my ears, flinging sand recklessly at the parking lot behind me and the sky was a huge brass band playing it's lively tune.

A song popped in my head - How great is our God! How great is our God!

It sure made me want to swing...on the arms of my Savior.

Anonymous

Sometimes i wish the blog were anonymous, so i could write thoughts that plague me without fear of creating drama...

2 years

It's been two years since this wee blog began. So much has changed and so much has happened! I am amazed every time i see the new things and people around me how quickly the world changes and moves. The pace of life is fast (and picks up speed as i age) though i do believe it is only humans who are stunned by the passage of time.

And I got to thinking...what can you do in two years?

I've done this:
quit a job
sold most everything i own
moved to MI
started a master's program
shoveled my driveway 13 times (then got lazy and let the snow pile up!)
traveled to Peru
thanked God for rainbows
visited Jordan
praised God for Jesus
met my niece
shouted for joy at Chloe's beauty
watched my friends get hitched
met new babies - Megan, Caleb, Oliver
continued school
broke an arm
watched God heal my arm quickly
raced in a group triathlon
prayed
said bye to winter
said hello again to winter
went to the Tulip Fest
sang in public
painted buildings
stood on the temple mount in Jerusalem

What a life! What a joy! How blessed I am! And more than anything it is not the things, the stuff, the doing that is so great. It is the living. It is being able to experience, to try, to learn, to grow that is the blessing. I like the way Solomon puts it "Everyone should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his work, it is the gift of God!" Eccl 3:13

Have you celebrated your gift today?