Kite Strings and Expectations

The sun is setting on the last day of break. It's like feeling the wind tug the kite string from your hand. You don't want to let go, but you know you have to.

Warm temperatures and brilliant sun have ushered in an unusually early Spring, and gifted us with wonderful March break weather.

It wasn't quite the week we expected. We had to squeeze rest, relaxing, and fun in between illness, schedules, and around a mini renovation project.

The funny thing about expectations, is what can happen when you lay them down. When you choose to accept where you are, acknowledge God in the moments and live in them. Gifts of grace are everywhere.   

Thankfulness for the first ice cream run of the season...

And a Latte for those who aren't picking up sugar til after Lent..

Gales of laughter from the back seat. Music.

Holding hands. Wind rushing past the open car window.

Hot dogs on the grill. Birdsong in the early morning. Smiling.

The rhythm of our lives, right now, in this time and place. Loving each other the best that we can, and learning how to do it better.

Waking each morning knowing we are loved wildly, unconditionally, deeply and completely by the God of the universe.

Contented, thankful hearts.
It was a wonderful break~ 

Blessings,

An Organized March Break~

I'm late posting today. I think someday we will look back and say this has been the shortest March Break in history! A nasty cold interrupted a lot of my plans, but I did mange to putter and get some things done...
Remember this "before" mess? (When did I become so ~ C'est la Vie that I  willingly post pictures of my mess for you?)

...and this one?

Well, we got to work, and here are the "afters"! Who knew an organized room could make me so giddy!

My favorite part is this wall of craft organization... a piece of peg board and some containers goes a long way towards giving everything a home!

I'm not completely finished, but I am thrilled with the amount of work that we managed to do between illness and Spring break activities! I am down to only 2 boxes left from our move one year ago!

There are still a few days left, and our temperatures are soaring! We have plans to be together outside and enjoy some reading, hiking and maybe grilling.

The sun streaming in the window is making me dream of planting my garden and warm summer days!

One of this week's Allume writing assignments was poetry, so I went with the summer feeling:

Summer Storm

The breeze called first in urgent tones, and whispered in the pines,

it made the starlings take to flight, and boxwood's start to sigh.

It swept a cloak of grey and black, across the bits of blue,

and all that had been clear and bright, was hidden from my view.

I laid aside my gloves and trowel, as drums began to beat,

I watched a new insistent wind, rush dry leaves down the street.

She finally arrived herself, exciting, bold and free,

I waited while she passed the gate, and then confronted me.

Cool water runs in rivulets, down cheeks and off my nose,

the starling shakes his feathers dry, chirping out his woes.

She left us all quite suddenly, beautiful wild and warm,

the flurry of excitement, that is the Summer storm.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Today I'm joining: 

 

Thanks to Rachel Anne, for hosting!

Wall stencils, Grace, and Kleenex...

Kleenex, hot tea, and decongestants are, for the third time this season, my best friends. The weekend started out clear and wonderful. We dove head first into the plans we had for this March Break. One of those plans involved the vinyl wall stencils that I had been patiently waiting to adhere. The wall space I had chosen was in a high, awkward space. I'm short, and since a ladder was no help... I waited for help from those considerably taller than I.

There was also the mini Reno project which involved saws, hammers drywall, and 2x4's. It is an extra storage closet, and the drywall compound is drying as I type.

Monday morning I expected to hit the floor running. Instead, the only thing running was my nose. I managed to pull everything out of the storage room and onto the family room floor. Between sneezing and blowing, I organized a few boxes, posted about Lent, sighed deeply over the Allume writing assignment that went unfinished, and went to bed. And now, it's Tuesday.

If only sleep could finish the things we left undone, organizing the mess and giving us a fresh start. It doesn't. We wake to find the things we left, now buried underneath a new pile of urgent! And so, if you had been a fly on the wall earlier this morning, you would have been privy to the melt down. Kleenex sopping up the mess of tears and, um, well-mucus. Another writing assignment now in the wings waiting it's turn. Just beyond the computer, boxes and bins waiting to be sorted. Laundry that can no longer be ignored. Chores that to a tired, cold infested body, seem to require herculean strength to accomplish.

Enter, Grace. In the form of a husband who understands the overwhelmed. He offers good coffee, a listening ear, Kleenex. He helps extract the pieces from the pile, making it less like a mountain, more like a path. Grace for soggy cheeks and puffy eyes.

I'm not sure how much will be done today. I'll figure it out as I go. If you need me, I'll be here, at home. Grace is here today, and I am loved.

Blessings on your day!

The Trust stone...

There are many things that I wish I could do. I have been known to wish for a magic wand. One that would change the past, fix broken relationships, speed up my healing, instantly cause weight loss, and (while I'm at it and because it is a Magic wand) clean the bathroom for me :) With the exception of the bathroom, I can't do any of these, but I know who can. Not instantly, but in His time and plan. In spite of this knowledge, I often waste precious time thinking, and re-thinking what might work, what could be done. Is there a quick answer, plan or patch, what's the best way...

A year ago, I wrote this:
Yesterday, in the quiet of a sunny afternoon, I was at it again. I was raking leaves and debris from the front garden... and thinking at warp speed. I was anxious, and tired. In frustration I tossed the rake to the ground.
"I can't do this"
Somewhere deep in my spirit these words echoed,
"No, you can't, but you know that I can"
"Father, I know you can, but why can't I let you... completely?"
"You don't trust me"
I was about to reply indignantly that of course I trusted Him, He was God... but the truth was, He was right.
"You are right, I don't trust you with these things"
I scrubbed the dirt and stones with my croc's while I pondered His next question:
"Why?"
"Because" I replied, "I think you'll fail me"
"Have I ever failed you?"
"No, never "
"Then give me the stuff, all of it. Let go of it. You can't control it, no sense in wasting time thinking you can. Trust me, I've got you. Now, take this."
"Father, what is this?
"It's peace, let it fill all the spaces where this stuff used to be. It really is going to be OK, I'm not going anywhere."

He did have me. He didn't fail. I did let go, and  I was terrified. Funny thing about fear is, it just can't stick when love shows up. When God asks us to trust, He holds on tighter and  love surrounds us completely. He is bigger than all of our days. While I may not understand all of His ways, I can trust Him, because I know this; I am truly, deeply, wildly, completely loved by the God of the universe.

Psalm 20

I pray that the Lord will listen when you are in trouble

and that the God of Jacob will keep you safe.

May the Lord send help from his temple

and come to your rescue from Mount Zion.

May he remember your gifts and be pleased with what you bring.

May God do what you want most and let all go well for you.

Then you will win victories, and we will celebrate,

while raising our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord answer all of your prayers!

I am certain, Lord, that you will help your chosen king.

You will answer my prayers from your holy place in heaven,

and you will save me with your mighty arm.

Some people trust the power

of chariots or horses,

but we trust you, Lord God...

So,what stones have you placed in your pocket this week? Has your Lenten Journey caused you to leave footprints in places you never thought possible?

I hope today's footprints lead us deeper into Trust; enveloped in Love and covered with Grace...

Blessings!

John 12: 1-10

I'm  joining the wonderful women of:

 

Deep Sighs and Forecasts...

This should be Wordless Wednesday... because this what it looks like outside my window... and I am almost speechless!

The last two days have been so warm and Spring like!  And I thought I needed a beach candle last week. I may have to go buy out the store!

The thing is, it's so beautiful. If this were the beginning of December, I would be thrilled, and sighing deeply at the sight of a Winter wonderland.

But it's not.

It's almost Mid March.

So I'm sighing a different kind of sigh today!

The week has flown by, but I think the speed might have something to do with anticipation.

Today is the first day of our March Break! We are staying around here for the week and working on some cleaning and storage room additions. It sounds boring, but I am actually looking forward to cleaning out the final boxes from our move, and having things more organized! This is the one rooms that I hope will get a total makeover. This is the room I'm using for Rachel's Challenge! By next Friday, I should be able to post some good after pictures!

This has been a week of new things... I shared my story with a group of women this week and was amazed by Grace...  I stepped out into a ~31 days to a better writer~ challenge and was Exhilarated!
and I am finding my steps through Lent to be more confident, contemplative and deeply moving than they have been in any other year.

In the end, it is the moments in our days that matter. The life that happens all around us, because or in spite of the weather at the door.

So, it can rain, snow, sleet or hail... the forecast for the coming week looks like a covering of belonging, followed by some steady Grace, and  strong northeasterly gusts of neverending Love! Now, there's a forecast that makes me sigh and smile!

Have a Fabulous Friday!

Today I'm joining: 

 

and

Thanks to Rachel Anne,and  Michelle for hosting!

A writing assignment

As often as I can, I will be joining in with  31 days to a better writer. Today's assignment is: Extrapolate. Take one part of the picture below, focus on it, write about it...

Almost all of the houses had front yard fences. Not so much to keep us in, or even to keep someone out. They helped to define us. One scorching summer, Mrs.Addison got free, leftover paint from the hardware store. The colour of her porch kept the neighbors talking for weeks, and added a new element to the defining.

We were sandwiched together in rows, like the houses on our monopoly board. The fences kept us from blending together, becoming one great mass of house on the narrow street. Mr. Hansen, who had lost his sight before I ever took my first breath, used to drag his cane along the fences. He knew where he was by the noise of the cane. Chain link. Wood slat. The scratchy sound of old wood, overtaken by brambly hedge. When the noise stopped, he knew he was home. Mr. Hansen had no need of defining. No worry that he would blend into the street and be lost. He had his own permanent definition. I asked him once, if he would want a fence like all of us, or maybe a colour of paint brighter than our cold, damp days. He said "Boy, I know who I am, and I know how to get home. It's all I need"

Many years later, I would spend rainy nights lying awake on the twelfth floor of a stone grey high rise. I would wonder who I was, and how I would ever get to a place I could call home. Even though I knew I'd never hear it again, I would listen for the sound of the cane on the fence...

Have a wonderful day!

Speaking, Grace, and Little things...

The soft voice of a daughter who stops to say she's praying that everything will go well.

Friends who laugh with you and tell you not to be nervous.

The dear woman who sat with me during coffee, and shared her story, right before I had to go and share mine.

Sunlight that shone magnificently through the church window, claiming my breath for an instant- a gift of grace, a reminder of a creator who loves.

The little glass pitcher, it's story now part of mine.

The mom in the first row who smiled like morning light, and spoke volumes with tear brimmed eyes.

The voice of the creator, deep in my spirit, that calmed knocking knees and a pounding heart...

It said  "You are mine".

Helping hands as I loaded my object lesson back into the trunk.

A good friend who calls to see how it went.

The beep of call waiting as the best husband tries to call at the same time.

And you

who prayed and emailed.

Treasures, all of these things.

Grace is in the little things. In the everyday things.

I was covered in it, every trembling bit of me.

And the words came.

I spilled out my story to the beautiful women in rows of wooden benches.

 We offered and received grace.

We uncovered the lie of Not good enough.

We spoke the truth of Living Loved.

 He was there.

And I gave thanks.

Blessings,

Linking up with:

 ifellowship; Seeds of Faith Women