Past and present anticipation

There is a sad little corner in my house. Once upon a time it looked very festive and caused a tingle of excitement to come over my heart. Here it is, see if you agree:



I put up the set of little trees the day after Thanksgiving. Knowing that we wouldn't set up our big tree for 2 weeks, I did want some Christmas spirit around, so I set them up and carefully untangled the ornament hooks, little twinkle lights and hung the fun ornaments up. I faithfully plugged in the twinkle lights each morning and left them on all day, then unplugged the at night with a sigh. Sparkly, twinkly, shiny and sweet.....a hope of things to come.

It's all about the anticipation I've decided.

Once Christmas day has come and gone, the decorations, the lights and smells just do not thrill anymore. Around about November of 2011 we will break them out again and the anticipation will begin...it happens every year. But in February a little clump of trees only serves to annoy!

The anticipation of moving to another house is less than the thrill of Christmas, but it is still a bit exciting. The boxes and crates around those little trees are beginning to annoy also, but in two weeks the excitement of setting up house again will be overtaking me and I will bustle around making the next house a home. I do love that.

Today is a blustery day. I expect Pooh and Piglet to float by with the leaves and wind at any time. But it also stirs up anticipation in me that is hard to explain. Why does a day like this remind me of the Day when Jesus will return again? I do not know and can't possibly begin to analyze that...I have boxes to pack. But it does and it's giving me a thrill again today. Maybe it is that all of nature is rustling and dancing around in the wind....

  Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
      Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
      Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise
 before the Lord, for he is coming!
      He is coming to judge the earth.
   He will judge the world with justice,
      and the nations with his truth.

Psalm 96:11-13 NLT

The daily touch

Have you ever taken account of how many people your life interconnects with each day? I'm trying to count them up today....and it's amazing.

~My husband, morning chatter
~Daughter, quick hug and kiss before she left for school
~15 minutes with my mom as I took her to church.
~People at the church office as I manned the front office today--nothing more than a wave to 2, stuck tongue out at one (he started it), flirted with husband, small talk with another.
~Said hello to some ladies at the Bible study while I brought my mom in then I jetted off to the office.
~One of them pulled me aside (as she is always doing) and offered to prepare lunch for the people who help us move in 2 weeks.
~Chatted with a friend who is just getting out after major surgery as she popped into the office. Today was the first day she actually styled her hair (spikes...cute!) since it's started growing back in from chemo.
~Said thank you to a friend who came by with an unexpected gift. It was a very quick 'gift and run'. It blessed me.
~Sister on phone
~Dear friend, a new widow since December, on phone...plans to play racketball.
~A bed-ridden shut in on phone. Her back is very painful, please pray for RS.
~Man working on resume, just lost a good job because of the economy.
~A man from Liberia who is trying to make a living here now.
~Sent a text thanking someone (in Nebraska, not Texas) who said they were praying for me.
~Another friend who is a new widow since September. Nice to see her smiling, chattering, keeping busy.
~Theology of prayer discussion with husband over hot dogs and salad at Costco. ;)
~The man who rang up my things at Costco looked so familiar. I know him from my past...who is he? High School? College? I realized it was college as I wheeled my cart out. He didn't recognize me either so I didn't say anything. I remember his name now. But I had only given him a polite "thank you" in the store.
~An older woman who couldn't remember where she parked in the parking lot....she spotted her car just then and we laughed. I love encountering people who make me laugh.
~Waved and said hello to the neighbor who was raking up pine needles.
~Fussed at my dog for getting underfoot while carrying in heavy groceries. I forgave her quickly and we had some kisses.
~Sent a text to a very dear friend, who lives in another state, whose life is reeling with so many concerns and now she has to help plan her sister's funeral for Thursday.
~A 13 year old boy who rides home with us as we waited for my daughter to come out. We talked about Xbox and bowling.
~Chatted with daughter a bit in the car, we teased the boy and talked about Angry Birds, relatives, friends and why some girls are nice to boys but not to other girls (all in less than 10 minutes).
~Read messages from friends in far off places and wrote messages back to some ...people who I've connected with again from the past on Facebook and people I've chosen to connect with because of some similar interests on a forum. I breathed out a lot of prayers as I read along in each place. Dear people, all of them.

It is amazing how many lives we touch in the course of one day.....and they all touch ours back.

Crazy Love

 This is real love—not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us 

and sent his Son as a sacrifice 

to take away our sins. 

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, 

we surely ought to love each other.  

No one has ever seen God. 

But if we love each other, God lives in us, 

and his love is brought to full expression in us.

 1 John 4:10-12 NLT

"God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. 

He measures our lives by how we love."
— Francis Chan (Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God) 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Love someone...

Swirling restless stacks of ...ehn!

My head is in a fog and heavy today with a cold coming on...or something coming on.

The boxes piling up around me are making me moody and restless. I had a feeling it was too soon to start packing. Why did I listen to my practical husband and start? Then I realize it is not too soon.....the move is three weeks away.  He is right....he is practical and I am a procrastinator. I like for things to be done and over-with right away (especially things that are not fun). Why drag it out and do a little at a time? Restlessness is threatening to incapacitate me if I let it...I will shut down with just occasional bursts of getting things done. (maybe I should take a vacation until moving day)

I need a checklist so that everything didn't swirl around in my brain so much and overwhelm me.  Organizing is not hard, but when it is never done, it grates. Too many details swirling around in my brain with no immediate resolution. (It could be a fever coming on too though, it's hard to tell.) We are just moving a couple of miles away, but we have to take everything with us and set up again. That is what I can do....work on a check list. Details are much more manageable on paper than they are in my head I think.

ehn, boxes.

I must distract the brain.....

So.....and here is my point, actually.... I read a few wonderful blogs today and thought I would pass along some wonderful reading.

The photography and beautiful story telling here are making me smile today.

I've heard of God reaching down this way a lot lately.  

My good friend Kim is starting a brand new blog. God is stretching her lately and opening her eyes to things beyond her corner of the world. Go read about it at Neighbourhood Sprawl.

God is wanting to tell you and show you great things, even when your head is swirling, even if it is just a plan to keep boxes from incapacitating you). Pay attention. (I am reminding myself, but if the shoe fits....)