Arrival

Writer's block is my worst enemy. I would love to write a beautiful, heartfelt, witty and endearing post for you all to read, but it's just not happening tonight. Or probably any time this week. But I do have something to say...

I made it!! After weeks of packing, moving, unloading, housesitting, catsitting, errand running, hostess hiring, busser training, and a thousand Target runs, plus game night and wine with my sister and brother and a two day road trip with our lovely new hostess, I have made it to my new old home.

My excitement is unquenchable.

The first night here we had Mama and Daddy B and baby over for dinner. He is the cutest little guy!! We got some quality snuggle time in right off the bat. After Mim and Trim left for an event, the four of us siblings (Mama and Daddy B, Nannie, and myself) played a couple games and ate ice cream and laughed and had a wonderful time.

I feel so at peace here. As if I've been on vacation for nearly a decade and have finally returned home. My family here has been so welcoming and so warm. It's as if God planned for me to fit with them. I'm sure He did.

On a practical note, the job hunt has officially begun. Today I dropped off seven resumes, and Wednesday I plan to hit the next town on my list. I'm undoubtedly excited and feeling so blessed to have so many people caring about what's happening now and next for me.

And that about wraps up this episode of writer's block. Hopefully I'll have more to say or ways to say it next time.

In the meantime, stay fresh, friends.

Spring in the Valley

Mostly, I hate the central valley of California.

It's hot. It's dry. And here in suburbia, it's full of housewives with spending habits; entitled teenagers with daddy's car and too much time on their hands; and, frankly, just too many people in way too many gigantic houses.

In the summer, it can easily get to 115 degrees. That's one-hundred-fifteen, kids. That's nearly twenty degrees higher than average body temperature. Believe me when I tell you that it is 0 degrees of fun at that point. Unless you're filthy rich or into living outside of your means, running your A/C all the time is out of the question. It's miserable.

Can you tell I hate the heat? Seriously. I max out at, like, 85.

In all honesty, the valley just isn't the place for me.

But, today I discovered a new part of the valley. I kinda dig it.

You see, while most of the year the central valley's rolling hills and smooth plains are covered in golden waves of dead grass, springtime is a whole different story. It's like, magic.

Things are green! As in, trees and grass! Today I took a drive to the south-southwest of where I live on the edge of the foothills and I fell in love. There were groves of oak trees with their dark leaves standing against the clear blue sky and the sweet green grass. It made me imagine what the early pioneers saw when they came over that last ridge of the Sierra Nevada's. The valley really does have great soil; we can grow just about anything here. It's no wonder that people sent word to the east letting their friends and relatives know about the beauty of our glorious state. I imagine the empty promises of gold played a part too.

Now if you have allergies, the valley is NOT where you want to be in the spring. I practically rubbed my eye right out of my face today. But the fresh roses on my kitchen counter, the 80 degree weather with a breeze and the sun just warm enough to bronze my recently-out-of-hibernation skin are all worth it.

Maybe I have graduation goggles; maybe the awful summer, pitiful fall, and fickle winter drive my love of spring from my memory; I'm not sure how I didn't know this, but regardless of the reason, I am here to tell you that I love spring in the valley.


Is there a time of year when where you live feels a bit magical?

Have I Mentioned...

That I'm about to go through a pretty major life change? That everything I know now is about to be challenged? That I have a love bordering on obsession of frozen yogurt?

Okay, maybe that last one wasn't exactly pertinent. But I thought you needed to know. Mostly because I've been craving some all day. Guys, it's kind of a problem. Totally-under-control! I can quit whenever I want.

I just don't want. :)

I digress.

Suppose it's time to fill you in: I'm moving!

Remember a month or so ago when I wrote about my trip home? Well what I didn't tell you was that the -im's have been offering to have me come live with them for almost a year now. After some hemming and hawing and praying and consulting, I have decided to accept their offer.

There are many reasons I'm going, which can be discussed at later times. But I felt like it was time to tell you all, the avid readers you are.

The most important thing to know is that I am very excited about and very at peace with this decision. In about four weeks from today, I'll be pulling out of the central valley and heading towards the lost coast.

HumCo, ready or not, here I come.

Summer brings changes; what are some of yours coming up?

Unknown Truth

Have you ever had a moment when you have no idea why or how you're saying what you're saying, but you know thoroughly that it's exactly true?

The Waiting Place

In Dr. Seuss' book Oh! The Places You'll Go!, he describes a place you often discover after you've just exhausted yourself running out of confusion and an overall feeling of lostness. It's called, you guessed it, The Waiting Place. It's a "useless place", where everyone is... just... well, you know... waiting.

Some people are sure of what they're waiting for, others aren't. But everyone has one thing in common: no one knows how long they'll have to wait.

Ol' Ted was pretty spot on in this exploration of what we all face at one point or another. Eventually, we all get stuck waiting for something. We spend months and years of our lives waiting for the perfect job opportunity, the expected promotion, the payoff. We wait for the right person, the ring, the wedding. Farmers wait for rains, stockbrokers for peaks and declines, activists for policy changes.

I personally have spent a lot of my life waiting for chance to favor me, for my absentee parent to notice me, for my self-discipline and motivation to kick in.

"No! That's not for you!"

Dr. Seuss continues to tell the story of how his protagonist (and hopefully his readers) escapes his waiting and finds "the places where boom bands are playing". Gone are the days of anticipation and now is the time to pick yourself up move forward.

But most of us know it's not always that easy. Waiting can be comfortable and safe. And it can be terrifying to step out of that place where people sympathize and relate.

The disciples can relate. For three days, they sat together, waiting with no end in sight. They didn't know the entire world was about to change in a couple days. They were filled with misery, shame, confusion, and probably a fair amount of bitterness and anger. They had just spent the last three years with the most incredible man they had ever come across, performing miracles, releasing sinners, seeing dead prophets on mountains. They were sure this guy was the real deal: the Messiah.

And in a flash, he was gone. Betrayed by their friend, accused by their church, sentenced to death by their nation, executed by their government. Each of them in turn had departed their Lord, leaving him to face his fate alone.

The fear that overcame them in that waiting place must have been consuming. We know that it led at least one of them to begin questioning, probably everything that had happened. They were surely afraid that they would be next; did not Peter prove that in his denial? Would they have mourned so deeply if they had only believed all along? Would not their hearts have been full of hope if they remembered that Jesus told them he'd return in three days?

As it was, they did not. So they waited for something, anything to happen, to help them make sense of everything that had happened. They huddled together and wondered.

Today is the waiting day. On Friday, we mourned the beautiful sacrifice of our Savior. I cried for his suffering, for the shame he took upon himself that should have been mine. I ached for the disciples, who felt lost; for Mary, whose heart had been ripped from her; for God, who chose this way for His only son. I even ached for poor Judas, whose full story we may not know, but I speculate that it was not an easy choice for him, especially once he saw where it led; his shame was so great that he took his life before he could face his friends.

Thankfully, Jesus died for Judas. He died for absentee parents, serial murderers, back-talking teenagers, abusive family members, lying friends, and defiant toddlers. He died for all the bad things any one of us has ever and will ever do. He died for you and for me. He died for mercy's sake.

Suddenly, the waiting was over. The chains of death could not restrain the power of the Christ when He awakened inside that tomb. He appeared to his disciples, restored their hope and their hearts. He sent them to the world to share this news of life, promising them that He would be with them all along. There would be no more waiting. Only living in the light of hope and eternity.

He died for mercy, but He rose for grace. He rose for all of the good things that we have ever and will ever do. The things we could not do without Him, whether we realize it or not.

Easter is the end of waiting. The Messiah has risen, accomplished all that He was supposed to, and He lives forever. It is not of ourselves that we leave the waiting place; it is Him who calls us out of the darkness and into the light.

Sunday is coming.

Blessed are the friends

There's something that happens when you get to spend time with your best friend. Someone who has journeyed with you, listens to you, and gets you. Something... blessed.

A thought or two on globalization

Look at me, using big words from a class I failed (and was therefore forced to give up a degree in international relations).

But the world really is becoming a smaller place.

Today is St. Patrick's Day. While most people associate this day with leprechauns, four-leaf clovers, and Guinness beer, it's meant to honor a man who dedicated his life to bringing the light of Jesus to his former captors. And honor him I did: with a pint of Guinness beer.

Did you know that Guinness was started by a Christian man who wanted men to put aside the whiskey and drink something less devastating (water was notoriously undrinkable in this age)? It's true, you can read about it in this book, The Search for God and Guinness: a biography of the beer that changed the world, by Stephen Mansfield. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I desperately want to. Read it and tell me how it is and that I just have to read it.

I digress.

After my Irish buffet and beer, I came home and flipped on one of my favorite movies. The Sound of Music is a movie about an Austrian family portrayed by a number of British actors. Talk about crossing borders.

And as I watched, I baked. Irish soda bread, in honor of the day. It didn't turn out how I expected or wanted, but it was a noble start. More on that later.

About halfway through the movie, my German friend came over and we continued watching while eating our soda bread. Next we made ourselves a Mexican lasagna for dinner.

Kids, that's at least five different nations represented in this one day alone. All thanks to things like DVR, airplanes, Pinterest, Google, and Hollywood. I mean, really!

I personally love it. Being able to take parts of different cultures that I might not normally be able to makes my heart oh so happy.

Think about how small your world is, and how different things are now compared to just a few decades ago.

Well, what'd you come up with? What are some things that make your world feel smaller?