domestic duties

Just got back from doing the domestic duty of grocery shopping...This morning, while I laid in my bed, read and wrote, my husband fielded early morning calls from random people asking random things, dealt with the pest control guy (we have termites! thank God we don't own this place), and the a/c guy (our air conditioning decided to quit working right when it starts to get H-O-T). So after all that, I decided, the least I could do was go stock up on some grub.

And I realized while I was shopping that we don't eat about half, maybe even more, of the stuff sold in the grocery store. Both of us are trying to lose weight, so sweets were out, but even beyond that, all of the processed, packaged, chemical-laden stuff just held no appeal. It's like I don't even consider it food anymore.

It's occured to me that life by the flesh is like that--I can't even consider it life anymore. Little by little my spirit is set freer and freer (that word looks so funny!). Freer. Ha.

eat some fruit

Went on a hike this morning with a sister, and it was so wonderful. The woods have always been a place of mystery and adventure for me and today was no different as we chose "the trail less travelled" and began our walk. In the woods you find life in all of its wild, green, abundance, and I love to just take it all in.

It was especially encouraging for me just to hear this sister's stories and listen to the life she's lived. We are all so different and unique, and yet underneath all of our stories, is one story, his story, that he's written across our hearts.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately--I don't know that the Lord always does what we think of as "right," but he is life. I can recognize with my mind that I am free in Christ and no longer bound by the law, and my heart would like to do likewise, but sometimes...the law is just easier than life.

And yet, the Lord's life is an intoxicating fruit. It may not look appealing, but the taste is unparalleled.

it's official

So I've finally "officially" relinquished my maiden name for a new one. My license is changed, my social security card is changed, and my check card/bank account is changed. I feel a little sad that I didn't at least keep a vestige of my old last name, like hyphenation or ditching my middle name for my maiden one. But, changing my name was a little like shrugging out of an old coat on the first day of spring. The coat was comfortable, yes, and familiar, but now I'm enjoying the warmth of sunlight and a fresh breeze on my skin.

Thank you Lord for transitions and seasons.

take delight

I completely disagree with the statement, "live every day as if it's your last." (Or, "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die," to borrow from Solomon.)

If that were the mantra by which I lived, I would most certainly be very fat and very broke, very quickly.

Rather, I think we should live each day as if it's our first-- being open to growth and learning, being conscience to take care of our bodies, and by being delighted to be here.

Mike likes to remind me, particuarly while I'm driving (hey--I think of myself as a GOOD driver. I've never gotten any tickets, or been in an accident. And no, a runaway dump truck tire hurtling across I-20 and damaging my vehicle does NOT count as an accident. That was a freak of nature.) that "we could die at any moment."

I guess that's true. But when you're born, or in the case of Christ, reborn, it seems like death would be the last thing on your mind. In Little Women (at least the movie with Winona Ryder [where'd she go anyway?!], sadly I've never read the book), Jo (or is it Marmie?) quotes de Bible, and even though I'd read it before, somehow coming from the lips of a celebrity, it managed to strike me in a different way. "We're being transformed by the renewing of our minds."

Transformational. Renewal. The very mind of Christ. Live the first day every day. Take delight in your life.

Sounds lovely, right?

Then why, oh why, is it so hard?

I am reminded of the lowly little caterpillar, crawling around, perhaps on your car or windowsill, living his caterpillar life. Then, for whatever reason, instinct I guess, he spins his cocoon. And when the time is right, he emerges, transformed, a new creation.

I'm still relating more to the time spent inside that cocoon (of my own making, just like good ol' furry crawler). I'm stuck there. I wonder how many caterpillars don't turn into what they're supposed to, how many of them become mutants who make the insect world cringe instead of admire when they squirm by?

Okay, so maybe I'm taking this metaphor a little too far. I guess I'm just longing for this transformation and renewal to feel like a reality. I know feelings aren't everthing, but in this case, it would be nice.

I want to take delight. It's the only way to live.

That's my name, don't wear it out

My pirate name is:

Mad Bess Bonney

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

five control freak tipoffs

To be fair...

You know you've got a control freak on your hands when...

1. She immediately picks up anything you happen to put down, whether it be the keys or the remote, because she is insanely fearful of said items being lost by you

2. You try to clean the kitchen in an act of kindness, but she pushes you out because she wants to make sure things get "clean-for-real."

3. Her closet is color coded

4. She gets a little crazy when the ketchup and salad dressing aren't placed on the correct shelf in the refigerator

5. She rearranges the pillows on the bed you've made because they just didn't look right

and a sixth just for fun...

6. She goes absolutely bonkers when you don't replace the empty toilet paper roll.


*I don't mean to imply by this that a "control freak" is automatically a feminine trait. I just couldn't think of anything anologous to "metrosexual" that applied to the circumstances.

five metrosexual tipoffs

You know you've got a metrosexual on your hands when...

1. He takes as much (or more) time in front of the mirror as you do

2. Your bath products are not safe from his usage (particuarly the high intensive moisturizing shea butter scrub)

3. He is way more sentimental than you, and would greatly enjoy taking a scrapbooking class

4. He owns triple the amount of clothes and shoes

5. Showering for twenty mintues is the minimum amount of time needed for maximum cleanliness

I am...

feeling lost (and I'm not talking about lost in Christ, I mean just plain LOST),

hoping I will sleep tonight,

feeling Asian (yay for Japanese themed parties at my house and black eyeliner!),

a little hungry,

learning love, and

wanting more.

all kinds of things

I keep hearing strange noises all over the house, but I am home alone for a few days. And I am paranoid. I have a habit of psyching myself out. So, if you're in my neck of the woods, you might be getting a visit from me...

I'm loving Pandora, even if my music station entitled "Girl Power" has been playing men all day. Check it out.

I just read an article in Creative Loafing about Atlanta being a hotspot for child prostitution. Honestly, I wish I hadn't read it. I know it's good to be informed and raise awareness, but I only feel angry and helpless and hopeless when I see evidence of such evil in the world. And not just the "world" in a vague, "out-there" kind of way, the world, as in my backyard. I ask why, knowing I won't get an answer. Maybe that's the wrong question anyway.

I want to know why the love of Christ can become so stale and impotent within us.

I want to know why the world isn't being changed by the passionate force that is his love.

Oh, I know there are little, and not so little, ways his love is working everywhere. There are people (like the Open Door) who are making a radical difference in the lives of those suffering in their neighborhoods.

But I have this image in my head of a little girl whose life is in ruins because she was kidnapped, or ran away, and picked up by a pimp. Thinking about just that one child is enough to tear my heart apart.

I want love to do more, be more, I don't know...have more of a presence in my life, the lives of those around me, the life of the world.