Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 104

Today's Daily 5:

1. sleeping in
2. waking without the terror and weight that some mornings bring
3. having one of dad's favorite apple streudels for breakfast this morning
4. a winter day sunny enough to require sunglasses
5. reading on the bus (I read another fabulous book about autism - Dancing With Max - more thoughts to come)
6. a Kit Kat bar
7. cute kids on the bus
8. being referred to last night by a long time friend addressing her daughter as "Auntie Lisa" - I love that I get to be Auntie Lisa
9. a stop at the farmer's market
10. the little sausage shop having my favorite sausage in stock for the first time in weeks (I don't actually like much sausage, but this little shop at the farmers market sells a turkey mango sausage that is so good when it's grilled with potatoes)
11. Google maps on my iphone and the transit directions it provides, making my ability to get to various places around the city so much easier
12. laughter
13. making friends through blogging - how fun is that?  that I'm "meeting" people all over the world because five years ago I started writing in this place
14. green beans (steamed, with butter and sweet chili sauce)
15. coconut scented bubble bath from The Body Shop
16. actually feeling relaxed and trouble free for a few hours instead of tense, scared, exhausted
17. green grapes
18. dad treating me to an old fashioned plain donut
19. magic bags
20. escapist television

Unlocked

A couple of weeks ago, on one of my last daily bus loops to read and pray before starting my job, I went with a book that was supposed to be "lighter fare" than what I'd been reading for the previous couple of weeks.  A novel.  I read fiction rarely, for a whole variety of reasons best not discussed in this post, but that day I had one that I figured would be a fit for my whole list of qualifications and I set off to read it.

The book was "Unlocked" by Karen Kingsbury.  It was an "easy read" that took me a little less that the three hour bus loop to finish it, but I definitely fought tears at several points throughout the story.  I'd picked it up because it was a story about an autistic boy, and the way music reached him, and that fascinated me.  I'm always fascinated by the way the mind works, and issues of mental health, but I had ulterior motives too.  A friend of a friend that I pray for has a child that's severely autistic and I was curious to understand more fully what that might look like.  And, someone challenging that I deal with on a regular basis is at the mild end of the autistic spectrum, and I was hoping to gain insight that would make interaction with that person a bit easier.

What I wasn't expecting was that God would speak to my heart deeply and move me to pray for both of those situations, and for others as I read.  It was that, that moving of my heart in an unexpected place as I rode the bus that day that drew tears as much as the moving story itself. Looking back, I'm so grateful I read this book.  I'm grateful for the insight into the challenges of parenting an autistic child that it gave to me.  I'm thankful for the conversation it opened with another friend, that led to another book suggestion on autism (one I plan to start reading on a bus loop journey today, actually).  But mostly I'm so thankful for the reminder that God will meet my heart in the most unexpected of places and use the most unexpected of tools.  That a deep drawing of my heart to prayer doesn't have to carry the intensity and pain and fear that I had been deceived into believing it must for the last several years.  But that instead, in the most ordinary of places, on a city bus, my heart can be overwhelmed with peace, with expectation, with love that carries a crying out to God for the things he is placing in my heart.  That it can be the most natural and simple of things.  And that because it is natural, it will stay with me.  I've paused over and over again  in the following weeks to pray for those people and situations, simply because a story engraved them on my heart in the language that God uses to speak to me, in the voice I recognize as the one he uses for me.  And that, my friends is a gift.  To have a request be a passion, spoken from love, and not a burden that weighs down and exhausts.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 103

Today's Daily 5:
(an introduction to the Daily 5 can be found here)

1. Waking to email from friends
2. blog comments
3. catching the bus I wanted this morning, making the commute smoother
4. waking and realizing that the promise of a weekend is only hours away
5. dinner with a friend, even though it was unexpectedly cut short
6. popcorn
7. a new water bottle
8. watching a movie with family
9. neck pillow
10. sort of escaping my crazy living arrangements for the weekend.

Friday!

Since I was out of work for quite a while, it's been a long time since Fridays brought welcome relief.

But, this week, after putting in a very full and crazy week, and dealing with the continuing aftermath of all kinds of crazy family and personal stuff, I'm SO ready for a weekend.

Especially since this weekend is a rare one that is incredibly low key, with very few appointments or formal plans.

My one big goal for Saturday is to hop on the bus and take the three hour loop I was taking almost daily before starting work, and have some quiet down time to read and think and pray.  (What does it say about my living situation that riding the bus for three hours is the safest and most peaceful place to get in some downtime for quiet and reading?)

Tonight I'm having dinner with a friend and her daughter, but low key, order in pizza sort of dinner at her house.  Tomorrow I might be seeing a movie with my mom and aunt.  Sunday afternoon I'm spending a couple hours at a paint your own pottery place with a friend.  The only other thing on the schedule is to hopefully make a trip to my favorite farmer's market (indoors of course!) to pick up some fruit and things to keep me fed for breakfasts and lunches through next week.

And that's all folks!  Quiet is the name of the game.  Low key.  Resting and praying and recuperating.  (At least that's the plan... )

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 102

Today's Daily 5 (the American Thanksgiving Edition!):

1. Having a Chinook (terrible for headaches, but great for weather in the winter.  35 C change in temperature overnight)
2. Not having to wear multiple layers of clothing over my entire body to be outside
3. Having the strength to get out of bed on the hard mornings
4. my iphone
5. Cute and cozy boots
6. wearing jeans at work
7. an encouraging conversation with sympathetic friends yesterday
8. "First, he loves me, second, he loves me, third, he loves me..."
9. A job I'm really enjoying, that, to top it off, is indoors (can't imagine having outdoor work in the winter here)
10. A roof over my head at night, however dubious my ridiculous living situation
11. sweet friends who offer love and care and prayers
12. coworkers I enjoy
13. email - what a blessing to be able to instantly keep in touch with friends so very far away
14. Skype - ditto to email, but with voices and sometimes even video!
15. a smooth move of offices to the building across the street today
16. having lunch provided today
17. chocolate
18. wise counsel from trusted friends and family
19. an inspiring conversation this afternoon about living out God's calling on our lives with one of the volunteers who works with the agency I'm working for this month
20. ease of access to necessary services like banking and medical care
21. speaking the dominant language of the society in which I live fluently.  I spend all day right now talking on the phone with immigrants who are struggling with English, and I think it's such a blessing to be able to freely communicate
22. being in full possession of my mental faculties (again, some of the people I encounter at work these days, not so much, and I feel for them)
23. starbucks caramel apple spice and cranberry bliss bar (those bars are TASTY)
24. Subway for supper
25. a smaller group at house church that made for really good, honest discussion,
26. shifting dynamics at house church that remind me that God is moving amongst us
27. closing the evening by simply sharing honestly and praying a bit for each other
28. the promise of a weekend retreating a bit, staying at mom and dad's for a break
29. a new glass water bottle, with a silicone sleeve, to help prevent breakage
30. finishing up an audio book (Kabul Beauty School) that was a fascinating "read" (gotta love unabridged, well read audio books)