Simple Things

Hope pointed me to Chris at Enchanted Oak.  Chris and her family are very generously donating $2 to Heartline Ministries in Haiti for each blog post linked to hers, about the joy of simple things, written today and tomorrow.  I've been following Heartline on facebook for the last several weeks as a friend of mine here in Calgary knows some people who work with them.  Since Haiti has been so heavily on my heart, it's not hard for me to take a few minutes to think about the simple things today that I've appreciated.

These are a few of the simple things I've appreciated today:

• Mom giving me some time to move a load of stuff to Grandma's house.
• The taste of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, still warm from the oven
• Opening mail - I love getting mail, and there was some particularly fun stuff (a package from a friend, and a book I'd ordered) in the mail when Mom delivered it to me today
• A few minutes, sitting quietly and reading
• A really good sandwich while out for lunch with a friend
• The crazy technology that is letting me watch a conference in California, live.  (Okay, so that's maybe less simple, but it's something I really do appreciate today.)
• Email from a dear friend
• Weather that, for February in Western Canada, is actually fairly temperate
• My hair being curly today.
• Lighting a candle in my bedroom

Busy Saturday

It's a busy day.

By the time this post goes live, I'll have moved the first load of my belongings to my grandma's house, had a natural health treatment, (hopefully) gone grocery shopping, (hopefully) managed to get back behind the wheel of a car, and I'll be out for lunch with a long time friend.  Oh, and I'm hoping to squeeze a quick trip to the bank in there somewhere too.

After all of that is done, I'll be home.  I'm looking forward to catching another night of the Jesus Culture conference, and resting.  The plan is to do some reading, maybe a little baking, enjoy opening a few packages that came in the mail this week, and that my mom is delivering this morning when she comes to pick me up, and just generally be quiet.  I'm looking forward to quiet.

Remembering Ashes

Two years ago today, it was Ash Wednesday, and I was in Rome with dear friends.

It was the moment of a lifetime for me - to finally see some of the things I'd studied for all of those years in high school classes, and on through a university degree in European church history. 

But it came on the tail end of 4 very challenging weeks, and I was a bit discombobulated.

It was a day that I won't ever forget, though, for all the deep memories it holds, and for where it came in a sequence of four or five very challenging days.

It ended with the final Ash Wednesday mass for the year, with two dear friends, in St. Peter's Basillica, in the Vatican.

That mass is full of moments that like others from this series of anniversaries are both hopelessly blurred and incredibly clear.

I was wearing my hair in French braids, and the feeling of the ashes in the part of the braids is one I still recall.  The cross marked on my head.  That moment standing before the priest as he spoke (in Italian, or maybe Latin).  That day that reminds us of our fallibility - from dust we came, and to dust we will return.

It ushered in one of the most intense Lenten seasons of my life.  A season of fasting and praying and waiting and longing.

Today I'm remembering the ashes.  And the blessings spoken.  And praying for those who were with me in those moments.

Daily 5 - Day 177

Today's Daily 5:

1. Friday!
2. Got through a ton of "to dos" without rushing around or feeling stressed tonight
3. Freshly painted finger and toe nails
4. Watching Jesus Culture conference from the comforts of my bed for much of the evening - loved the worship!
5. Crawling into freshly washed sheets
6. Did a budget update, to reflect the unexpected year end bonus from work that I got.  It's nice to have that blessing.
7. Finished another audio book on my way home today - I really liked this one.  I'll probably post about it in the next day or two.
8. Thankful that even on a day with hard memories again, this year I'm seeing the places where my heart is healing
9. Listened to a great sermon on my commute today too.  There's something about someone who lives with integrity preaching the love of Christ that always stops me in my tracks.
10. A candle lit in my oil burner all evening.

Friday, Looking Forward

I'm incredibly thankful that it's Friday.

I'm wearing a sling again today, giving my shoulder a bit more of a rest.

These are the things I'm looking forward to, the things that are making this "one more day" of work somehow doable.

• The church in Redding, California that I love to listen to sermons from is hosting a conference this weekend.  And they're live-streaming it for free on their website.  I'm totally looking forward to getting home from work tonight, and settling in with some of my "to do's" for the evening, while watching the Jesus Culture conference online.  Love that I can be part of it from a distance.
• There was a new episode of Grey's Anatomy on last night (and maybe a new Private Practice as well).  That means that at some point over the course of this weekend, I'll be settling in for an hour (or two) to catch up on my favorite television drama.
• I'm wearing jeans at work.  And a hoodie.  so good.
• I'm having my weekly lunch date with a coworker.
• I had a mug of passion tea.
• I had a meeting with a coworker this morning about a project that I was dreading tackling, and she decided it would actually be more suited to her position, and took it off of my plate!
• I received a bonus cheque from work this morning - a little extra money right now, especially unexpected money, when I'm in the midst of moving and car shopping, is a special blessing.
• I'm going to do my fingernails and my toenails, and put a clay mask on my face tonight.
• I'm going to book a hair appointment - love getting my hair done!
• I have a natural health treatment tomorrow morning that will hopefully aid in speeding my recovery.
• I'm having lunch with a long-time friend tomorrow.
• I'm moving the first load of stuff to my grandma's house tomorrow.
• I'm likely going to get behind the wheel of a car for the first time since my accident tomorrow. (Okay, so not exactly looking forward to this, but will be glad to get it over with!)
• I will crawl into bed tonight with freshly washed sheets and pajamas, and climb out of the shower to a freshly washed towel.