The music in me....

What does music do to you? It moves me. Can you imagine a movie without the backdrop of song? Sometimes I wish our lives had musical undergirdings and I think mine does, but it plays in my own head. (Of course, I have more songs in my head than the average person. I've even been given the title of "The Original iPod".) I suppose it would be annoying if all of our songs were playing simultaneously. Maybe though they would only interact with those with whom you were presently engaged or at least those who you acknowledge as being in your general realm of influence. It would be like a dance, a give and take in partnership. Perhaps it would sound like an orchestra with each person playing their part on their unique musical instrument.....entering and exiting at just the right time, blending, harmonizing, swelling, then suddenly softer, pausing, then back in......

Most of the time we live in such disharmony with one another, that our songs sound more like an orchestra tuning up, each one playing their own little song in their own little corner as loud as they possibly can so they can hear themselves and drown out the distraction of others. Why do we live like that? Playing the symphony together is so much more powerful than the chaos and randomness of the individual tune-up. The symphony, concerto or whatever particular movement or piece has moments of complete togetherness where all play in unison, the same notes, the same way. There are also times where the parts compliment one another. Living in complete harmony with one another there are times when we should be showcasing the other person, encouraging them to play their solo and play it well.

Sadly, I am also struck by the thought that there are those who can no longer discern the song within them. The music has completely gone out of their lives. If our lives did have a soundtrack, what would we hear when they walked into the room, into our general realm of influence? Silence? Would we hear their song even if their ears and heart have turned deaf to it? Are we willing to stop tuning our own instrument in our own little corner long enough to sing their song back to them? to help them remember? to help them pick up their instrument and play it once again?

I can't imagine my life without music.....I can't imagine yours without it either. Don't forget your song! I need to hear it!

Weaving

Today I was at the mall. I actually went to pick up some boxes from a store I work at occasionally. When I was leaving with the boxes I noticed a purse in the parking lot a few spaces down from my car. It would have been an easy steal for someone. I went back into the store and looked through the purse to see if I could find some information about who it belonged to and hopefully a phone number to call.

There were several charge cards, receipts, pictures of a baby, driver's license, a check book, and a bunch of other stuff, but absolutely nothing with a phone number on it, not even the checkbook. Her car keys were also in there. It felt so strange.....invasive, to go through this person's purse. I did want to return it, however, and knew of no other way to find the information I needed. Finally, I wrote down some information from her insurance card. I thought I will call her agent's office, give them her name and they can look up her information. I left the purse at the store and the manager, my friend, Leeanna, called security and asked them to pick it up. I called the insurance office and asked them to call the lost purse lady and tell her that her purse had been found and was at the mall security office.

I thought about how easy it would have been for someone to walk away with this purse without a second thought and how easy it would have been for someone to steal her identity. I would never have considered taking it and wouldn't have the guts to use the charge cards. I have no clue how to steal an identity, nor would I want to. I think that is a good thing. I did think for about a half a second about the Starbuck's card, though. Fair reward, don't you think? I'm kidding!

So why me? Why did I find it instead of someone else? Was a prayer being answered on her behalf? I have no clue and will never know the end of the story. I do believe this, though, our lives are never ever isolated. God weaves them together in mysterious ways. Sometimes we see the workings of the web, but many times I believe we don't have any idea that it is happening or that we are a part of it. I love that about God.

Waxing and Waning

I was wondering if any one feels the ebb and flow of life like I do. Do you sometimes get really enthusiastic for something and then your enthusiasm just kind of slips away? In my experience it can happen slowly over time, but it can also happen within the scope of a few days, sometimes within a day. Do I get bored easily or do I simply run out of energy?

Okay, that's it! I just lost my excitement over this topic and don't want to blog about it anymore. Just kidding really. I'd actually like to dialogue about it with others for awhile. Am I unique in this or do you feel the same thing?

Paralysis or Proper Perspective?

I had a meeting this morning. When I got in my car to leave it wouldn't start......odd. It is only a year old, so I wouldn't expect the battery to be dead. I did, however, go to the basement and search for our battery charger, which I couldn't find. (My husband says it is on the shelf next to work bench, but I didn't see it.) When I went back to the garage I realized that my keys would not come out of the ignition. They would move in the direction of starting the car, but not move back, nor come out. I tried to adjust the wheel. It had movement, it wasn't jammed. I tried to adjust the gear shift. It wouldn't move with any amount of wiggling or pounding. (I didn't kick it, though I thought about it.) Still the car won't start. It most likely is unrelated to the battery. I suppose my car "thinks" it is in gear, not park, and it has no inclination to start in that position.

My car has a certain perspective in the moment. Sometimes my perspective is off, too. In the midst of my circumstances, I can be absolutely convinced that a certain thing is happening. I may be paralyzed by that view and unable to get started and move in any direction. My outlook is confined by so many human limitations. My vision becomes much clearer when my focus changes from my circumstance to One who knows right where I am and where He is taking me. I am reminded of these words, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." (Is 55:8)

I made it to the meeting. Someone came to get me and brought me home. My car still sits in the garage. I had some errands to run, or so I thought. I could be very frustrated with this circumstance, or I can rest in knowing, His perspective is much greater than mine, even for this day.

Stuff for Sale!

Today I have been going through stuff, literally. My daughter wants to have a garage sale this weekend, so I need to purge the closests, cabinets, and other storage areas. You know how it is. It is work, but acually feels great to clean out the things that I simply am not using any more. I am not a hoarder, but I am certainly no minimalist. I could probably benefit from lessons in mimimalism. Is there such a thing?

Actually, I'm being a little hard on myself. I'm not one of those who have let things pile up and pile up. Nearly every time a charity calls and asks for a donation, I come up with at least a little box or bag I can put out for them. So I go through the stuff fairly regularly. I'm sure my daughter wishes she could sell all those things I have put out over the last couple of years.

I don't like having garage sales. It is a whole lot of work for a little return. I told Melaina (just like the last garage sale we had) that I would help her by finding things to sell and by setting up for the sale, but that it was her responsibility to work the sale. I don't even care if she keeps most of the proceeds. I was going to set it out for the charity truck anyway. I'd just like to cover the ad (which by-the-way cost a pretty penny these days). I also don't like the whole bargaining thing. I don't appreciate it when people ask less than the ridiculously low price the item already is. Melaina is so much better at this than I am. She kind of enjoys it. When I go to other peoples garage sales, which I actually like to do, I never ask them for a different price. If I don't want to pay what they are offering, I don't need it. Question is though, do I need it at all? It is someone else's discarded stuff for crying out loud!

I think it is kind of funny that we buy things that we think we need, use them for awhile or a little and then put them out in the garage or driveway to sell to other people. There has been an occasion or two when I have actually sold something I never took the tags off of. That is simply pathetic! Why didn't I just take it back to the store? (Probably because I also do not like returning things. I make myself do it, though, in most instances, okay?)

I wonder if God wants to go through the stuff of my heart. What were all the "things" I bought that I thought I needed that have just settled themselves in my being. Some of them still have the tags on, I'm sure. I thought I wanted it, even needed it, but it wasn't quite right. Still it is there, with all the other stuff, just taking up room, crowding out any space for what is truly needful.

In Luke, chapter 11, Jesus along with his disciples go to the home of Martha and Mary. Martha is busy running around doing, who knows maybe she was trying to get ready for a garage sale when they happened along and interrupted her day. When they sat down to talk, Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and takes in all He has to say. Martha is frustrated with Mary and longs for her help. She approaches Jesus with her complaint. Jesus responds to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried about and upset about many things, but few are needed--or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her."

Having things is okay and selling them at a garage sale is okay, too. Letting stuff (whether tangible or not) take our time or crowd our hearts, though, is not what is better. Few things are needed --or indeed only one. May you sit at His feet, allowing Him to fill both mind and heart.

The Cat Nap

Most of you think of a cat nap as just a little snooze somewhere in your day. I am assuming it got it's name from the fact that cats sleep a lot, especially during the day. My cat nap is just a little different. You might remember from an earlier blog "Sleepless" that I love to nap. There is something extra special about napping on a Sunday afternoon, too. Somehow it refreshes me for the week ahead. Oh, but back to the cat nap......

My cat nap actually includes a cat, sometimes two. We have two cats at this house. Simon is the elder. He is silver tabby and white and has a very cute pink nose. He is mine. Nobu Naga is the younger, all black cat. He is mine, also. Well, theoretically he is Luke's. Luke picked him out after having to get rid of a cat that was given to him. (Kiku was a wild, crazy kitten who did not understand the concept of the litter pan. Poor Kiku, as cute as she was, had to go be an outdoor kitty.) Anyway, Luke chose Nobu, but I have paid for his every need, and I believe that Nobu thinks he is mine.

Now that the cats are introduced, back to the nap. Sometimes I let Simon nap with me, especially if I only want a short nap. He wants to be too close. He prefers to have his little head near mine, snuggled into my right shoulder. Sometimes he makes a little whimper sound when he sleeps and often he decides he needs to bathe in the middle of the nap and the licking begins. It is just too much for me and disturbs my sleep. Nobu on the other hand, is the perfect napping companion. He settles in quickly right up against my left hip. When I adjust, he adjusts. He sleeps for good long stretches before needing to bathe. He is in the perfect spot for my hand to rest on him. When I stir and give him a little pat, sometimes leaving my hand on him, he just purrs up a storm. The vibration and the sound is very comforting (especially when it is not right in my face, as Simon likes to do).

There is no "moral of the story" or spiritual analogy regarding this blog. I could probably come up with one if I thought long and hard enough. Nope, just wanted to share what a true cat nap experience really looks like. On this Sunday afternoon, I had a two cat nap. Yep, one on my right shoulder and one on my left hip.

Riders of the Storm

I follow hurricanes. I don't know why. When I hear a storm is brewing, I keep my eye on it. I read the articles, I look at the pictures, I watch the videos regarding it. They facinate me somehow. They are powerful beasts! They swirl across the waters, sometimes more organized than others, gaining, than losing power to gain again. Man can do absolutely nothing against such a monster, except possibly predict where the greatest impact may be as it roars onto shore.

Hurricane Ike ran into the state of Texas early this morning. Only a catagory 2, but nearly 600 miles in diameter. That is about the size of the state itself. He had already raged through Haiti, Cuba and the surrounding islands wrecking havoc. (See my blog "An Ocean Away".) I am amazed at the people who try to stay and ride it out, especially after receiving stern warning to evacuate. What do they think they could possibly do against such a great storm? Can they keep the surge that runs ahead of the hurricane at bay (pun intended)? Can they push back walls of water 20 feet or more high? Can they hush winds of 100 or more miles an hour that howl around them, ripping homes and buildings to shreds?

I believe in a sovereign God, One who is Lord over all. I believe that He is sovereign, yes, over nature. I believe that He could say one word and that Ike would stop in his spinning tracks. Yet, I wonder how many times I stand with my hands on my hips and refuse to budge in His presence. Do I think I can hold back surges and "walls" of water that come into my life? Do I think I can quiet storms that rage around me? Why do I sometimes refuse to evacuate? refuse to leave my stuff behind? hold on to things? cling to the past or the present?..... when I should be dropping it as fast as I can and running into the arms of the only One who can calm the storm or carry me through? Do you do the same thing?

Many will have nothing as they return to their neighborhoods. Lord, they have had no choice but to lay their "stuff" down. Be their Provider. Help them cling to You.

Wasted Time?

Today I decided to work on a project I started awhile back. I needed to do two things. I had to rework a bed skirt so I could actually use it on my bed. A bed skirt usually has a large piece of material that goes under the box spring and then has fabric on three sides that hang to the floor (the skirt). My bed has slats across it supporting the box spring, so it won't allow the fabric to hang down. I cut the large section of fabric off and then finished the raw edge. Now I need to attach velcro to the skirt part and to my bed frame and just hang it along the sides. It makes sense and will work even if you can't picture it. The second thing I was doing was taking the extra fabric and making a long ring of fabric to put around the box spring. It would look so much better than just an exposed box spring. I spent quite a bit of time on it and was weary of sewing when another much better idea dawned on me. I could just purchase another sheet, flat or fitted would work and cover the box spring with that. I could even choose a variety of colors that would compliment my comforter and other bedding. It would be so simple and still look nice.

I was a little frustrated with myself for wasting so much time when I could have been doing something that was actually productive. Then I remembered that unlike those on the Texas and Louisana coast, I am not boarding up my home and heading for high country. Nor am I hunkering down to endure hurricane Ike. I just wasted a little of my time sewing something I really didn't need to. It's not a big deal! I won't waste the rest of my evening as I pray for those in the storm.

Get a Bang Out of This!

My kids used to watch a video about a robot named Colby. Colby is hanging out with a bunch of kids in a backyard and everyone is singing and playing and having a good time. Suddenly a bully enters the scene and Colby starts saying in a singsong way, "Intruder! Intruder! We have an intruder!" That is sort of how I felt as I was reading about the Large Hadron Collider. Read on.

"After 14 years of preparation, a new scientific wonder of the world opened for business Wednesday with the official startup of Europe's Large Hadron Collider.
The $10 billion particle accelerator is the biggest, most expensive science machine on earth, designed to probe mysteries ranging from dark matter and missing antimatter to the existence of extra, unseen dimensions in space."

"It’s a fantastic moment," Lyn Evans, the project leader for the Large Hadron Collider, said afterward. "We can now look forward to a new era of understanding about the origins and evolution of the universe.”

So what are we talking about here? Let's see if I can explain. Atoms are composed of electons, protons and neutrons, plus other particles. Protons, neutrons and the other particles are built up from fundamental constituents called quarks. Still with me? The particles built up from quarks are classified as hadrons. The LHC or Large Hadron Collider smashes hadrons together. The scientists believe (or at least have invested years of time and large amounts of money into it) that if they can smash hadrons together they can produce a "big bang" that will help them understand the origin of the world.

"So what will come out of those tiny, trillion-degree smash-ups? The LHC will look for exotic high-energy particles that supposedly came into existence just after the big bang---for example, the Higgs boson (which is thought to give other particles their mass) or supersymmetric particles (which may account for much of the universe's dark matter)."

Opponents of the project fear that the collider could actually cause microscopic black holes that would eventually gobble up the planet. Could be true science, could be science fiction. I have no idea. I guess I am more consumed by what they are trying to prove. Are they trying to prove that somehow "BOOM!", it just happened and God doesn't exist? Or deep down inside are they actually looking for a Creator? Will they find Him?

My prediction is this. They will actually see something so amazing that many of them will believe that the only explanation is a Creator OR that their whole mission will fail because God has chosen to protect the mystery.

For those who camp with the black whole theorists, take heart: the actual subatomic collisions aren't due to begin until next month. You have at least a month to get everything done you always wanted to do or as I see it, I am that much closer to being in the arms of Jesus, the One whom John, chapter 1 says this about:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made: without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

(Tan letters are quotes from MSN article.)

An Ocean Away....

I don't live by the ocean. There are a variety of reasons for that. I guess the most obvious is that I grew up in the midwest and the midwest has grown on me. I love the change of seasons and would miss that if I took up residence elsewhere. Beyond that, though, I love to visit the ocean and in fact we have our favorite place outside of Fort Myers, FL on a little island called Captiva. I wouldn't want to be without Captiva, for it calms my soul, however.....I have healthy respect for the ocean.

I love watching the water and hearing the waves lap the shore. I am awestruck by the glorious sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico, each evening seemingly from a different painter's pallette. I am amazed as I gaze out from my calm spot on the sandy beach and see storms out on the sea where lightning charges from the sky to touch the water. There is sweet pleasure in seeing the dolphins swim up and down the shore and frolic in the water. Who could ever express the wonder of seeing a nest of turtles burst from the sand and make their way into the mighty ocean? There are no words for that kind of stuff. I wouldn't want to do without any of these things and yet.....I don't want to live there.

The ocean is a powerful thing, to be respected at the very least. I tend to get a little uneasy when we are on the island and a storm blows in. Then there is the hurricane. I have been watching with saddened interest as the small, poor nation of Haiti gets battered and battered again. In some form of tropical storm to hurricance there has been Dolly, Fay, Gustav, Hannah and now Ike that have affected Haiti. The flooding is devastating. More than 600 people have died and 200,000 are without food, clean water and shelter, some of them for four days already. There has been no time between storms to recover and even if there was time, there isn't really any way.

The Haitians live with the ocean all around them. It is their home, just like the midwest is mine. Even if they wanted to most could not leave their island home. They are too poor. It is the poorest of countries. The ocean and the storms typical of warm ocean waters have their way with them. My heart is heavy for Haiti and it's people this day. God, give them respite from the storm. Send your people to help, including me, even though I feel an ocean away.

Mid-day Melancholy

I'm a little melancholy today. Not bad, just a touch. Not that melancholy is bad. I think creativity thrives in melancholy. I'm not feeling all that creative today, though. For example, I'm eating apples and peanut butter for lunch. I don't even like apples all that well, but it was.....uh, convenient. That isn't creative at all! I laugh though when I've fixed this really amazing lunch on a Saturday and my husband looks at it and says, "Wow!" That looks really good!" This happens time after time when he has just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He seems so disappointed. I tell him he could have fixed the same thing or waited just a bit and I would have made enough for him as well. He insists that he just can't think of those things. I don't know what to say to that......all the ingredients were there.

That reminds me of a conversation I overheard my two youngest children having when they were much younger. Luke tells his older sister, Melaina, that there is nothing to eat in the house. She tells him not to be concerned with these words, "Don't worry, Luke. You know Mom can make something from nothing." That is back when they still thought Mom controlled the universe AND had eyes in the back of her head. I miss those days!!!!

Ah, well, my apples are gone and I have a piano lesson shortly. I must hit the keys. Perhaps I will return for another blog yet this day. Maybe I will even be creatvie by then.

It's All in the Attitude

I went to the doctor yesterday. It was just a routine physical. Funny word....routine, because physicals aren't routine at all for me. My internist asked when the last time she saw me was. I hedged and said, "I don't know, a couple of years maybe." She had my chart, of course, and informed me it had been three years. She said they ususally put you in as a new patient by that amount of time. I squeaked by that one because I had come in at the end of 2007 when I had been having heart palpitations fairly regularly. They did an EKG. She asked what happened with that. I told her that as soon as I came in I stopped having them. See, that is just the thing. I knew that was going to happen, so there was no point of going really.

Anyway, she told me she'd really like to see me every year. I confessed that I just wasn't very good at this going to the doctor thing. She also told me I was very healthy (minus the blood work report, which she doesn't expect to have any major issues.) So if I'm healthy, why do I need to go every year?

So what is behind my less than routine visits to the physician? Well, there are several things really. Some I already knew about myself, but I made a new discovery yesterday. Here are my reasons:
I hate making phone calls. I like to call people I know and chat with them, but have to force myself to make any other type of call. I even have a hard time calling my dentist office, and my brother-in-law is my dentist and a great guy, I might add. The second reason is this, I just hate taking the time to go. I could be using my time in much better ways, doing something I enjoy. It is just such a bother. I'd be much better at it if I could just go spontaneously. I could go when I was in the mood that way. It's the way I do my mammograms. One just has to be in the right frame of mind for that one, so I go to the walk-in clinic, no appointment setting for that one. (Sorry, guys, but it doesn't hurt you to be informed on what women have to go through.)

I'm not fearful of discovering something bad, because the truth is other than normal colds and flus I've had very little sick time or hospital time. I had my tonsils removed when I was 7. I had my first child at the hospital. I had a miscarriage for which I needed a procedure and therefore hospitalization. After my third child was born at home, I had a complication for which I needed a brief stay in the hospital. I had two other kids, born at home, so no hospital there either. See, it's just this, "It's such a bother attitude!"

So what was my new revelation about why I don't like to go to the doctor? I realized yesterday that I really need to like my doctor. There is that relationship thing again. I hadn't seen my internist in awhile and I coudn't remember if I really liked her. By like, I mean that I have to feel like I could have a friendship with this person. Most of my doctors are women, except for the chiropractor and dentist. My chiropractor is a friend, too. He golfs with my husband, and remember my dentist is my brother-in-law, both friend and family. I was reminded yesterday that I do like my internist, so maybe I really will make an appointment to see her for the "routine" check-up in one year.

People Days

Yesterday was a people day. People days are good. They are so much better than stuff days. Of course stuff days are a lot easier to measure. You can write all the stuff you need to get done on a list and then cross it off when it is complete. Sometimes I do stuff that is not on my list, so I write it at the bottom and then immediately cross it off. Oh, come on, you do it, too. It gives you such a sense of accomplishment and we want some kind of credit for having done it, right?

Anyway, how does one measure the value of being with people? What kind of measuring device do we possess that could possibly do that? We all hear about quality time, but what is that really? You can not plan that special moment just because you set aside a certain amount of time (usually very small) to be with someone. I think that "quality time" is something we have created to relieve our feelings of guilt. We have sold each other a bill of goods on it, too. Too bad for us.

When we are intentional and choose to be with people, we demonstrate that time with them is meaningful and they are valuable to us. Time is a priceless commodity, a precious gift that we give. You can not plan quality, it just happens as your lives bump up against and weave into one another's and only in retrospect can you see that something special did indeed happen. So what can we decide as far as being with people goes? We can decide that is very important, it is needful, it is essential. We can make and take the time, to listen, to laugh and cry together, to share sorrows and joys, to have fun, to quietly sit with them, to carry them, to just show up.......

Yesterday was a people day.... It was a very good day.....I enjoyed my friends, my family.....priceless! Immeasurable!

Sleepless....

I didn't sleep well last night. That isn't particulary unusual for me. I can't recall a time in my life when I have been a good sleeper. I have always been envious of those who are dead to the world as soon as their head hits the pillow, or those who can fall asleep anywhere. I don't get it. If I knew how to become like them I would.

I hear everything. I dream like crazy and remember a lot of them because I wake up a lot. Sometimes I can't fall asleep for awhile, other times I stay awake for awhile when I wake up in the night, but mostly, I'm just restless. If I lay in one position too long, I ache and the pain wakes me up. I think "too long" may only be a half hour, an hour at the most. Sometimes there is just too much on my mind to sleep. I've even counted how many times I have woke up in the night. Don't laugh! It gives me something to do. I would say it wouldn't be an odd thing for me to wake up 10 times a night. And if I am sleeping away from home, I am doomed to be sleepless!

I don't wake up refreshed in the mornings. I can honestly tell you that I don't even know what that means. I have heard that sleep depravation is worse than drinking. I know I kind of live in the land of tired, but do my friends think I am walking around in a drunken stupor? The funny thing is I know I function better when I've had decent sleep, but how does one acquire that? I am a great napper, though. (Provided conditions are near perfect.....no noise, comfortable bed, and a temperature that isn't too hot or cold.) I feel more rested after an hour's nap than I sometimes do after a night's sleep. I am not convinced that I have ever had a full night's sleep.

Is it time for a nap yet?

Good-byes...

Good-byes are never easy for me. It honestly feels like a part of my heart is being taken away....it's painful. We said good-bye...sayonara...to Luke at the airport at 6 a.m. yesterday morning (Aug 31). It is strange how you can be so excited for someone and feel so sad simultaneously. Well, at least, I can.

The previous night Luke and I were home alone (Dan and Jesse had gone to the Mizzou game). I had been pushing back the feelings all day, knowing that it was just hours before Luke would be on his way around the world. That evening, though, Luke began to put down some layers on his loop machine with his electric and then began to play a melancholy melody that was coming straight from his heart. It reflected my own heart so clearly and the tears came rushing out. There was no longer any way to hold them back. He of course was unaware that his Mom was in the kitchen nearly sobbing as he played. Finally, he stopped and joined me. I said, "Thanks for the song, you made me cry." He said, "Yeah, it was sad, but I had to play what was in me." I understood completely....it was what was in me, too.

I asked what he wanted for dinner, and then chuckled as I asked if he wanted me to fix him a quesadilla. It was always Luke's and my default meal. Whenever we didn't know what else to have, I'd ask if he wanted me to fix him a quesadilla. He usually said yes, and this time was no different. He told me he needed to run a quick errand and that he would fix some guacamole when he got back and I could make the quesadillas. It was a great meal! Mostly it was a great moment in time.

Luke called from Detroit. He had arrived safely and had befriended the flight attendant who gave him and Anna (the other student going to Nagoya) vouchers for lunch in the airport. Good going, Luke! He texted his, "Sayonara!" as he boarded for Japan. Of course, that made me cry. This morning he emailed via his cell that he had arrived safely, all was well, and would we please let Lindsay know.

Yesterday I also said good-bye to a sweet couple from Quest (church) that managed to make their way into my heart, Dan and Lisa Rouse. They are moving for a job transfer. It will be a good thing for their family and I'm looking forward to hearing what God will do in their lives. Still, I will miss them.

Good-byes are really hard, they kind of stink, really. I remember another point in my life when it seemed like a lot of people were leaving me. My dad had died and several of my friends moved away. I asked God why everyone was leaving me. He reminded me that they didn't belong to me, they belonged to Him. So, Lisa, Dan, and Luke, you belong to Him, but I will miss you like crazy!!!!! My love and prayers go with you!