Busy Weekend

Y'all, I go back to work full-time on Monday (assuming, of course, that this time everyone involved has the correct date!)  That means that I'm spending this weekend tackling a whole variety of "must be dones" and "should be dones" and "would be nice to have dones" that I simply won't have as much time for once nine hours of my day, five days a week, plus commuting time are being spent working.  The days will start earlier than they ever have, and that means I'll need to hit bed earlier than I have in a while.  It means personal discipline, fitting in the big and most important things first, and then prioritizing on downwards.  So, I made a list. 

Not everything on this list is going to be accomplished, but I'm hoping to take a significant chunk out of it.  It includes everything from picking up a few groceries and buying a September transit pass to compiling a Bible study for our home church for the next ten weeks, tackling some reading that I have on my plate, and getting ahead on blog posts.

It's the kind of list I mostly enjoy working through.  Wish me luck as I tackle it over the next days and into the week!

(What are your weekend plans?  Are you a list maker, or more of a take it as it comes kind of person?)

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 10

Today's Daily 5:

1. Doing a crossword puzzle
2. the satisfaction of settling in and beginning to mark things off of a list for the weekend
3. curled up and reading
4. movie theatre popcorn, and a cute movie
5. being treated to tasty ice cream by dad on the way home from the movie

Reverb 11 - August

The Reverb prompt for August is:

Describe an unexpected moment, activity, sighting or conversation that touched you during July.

Hmm... July seems far away already, since August is now more than half-way through.

In July I unexpectedly connected with a newcomer to my city, while taking the bus.  We chatted for a length of time, and exchanged phone numbers.  In the couple weeks since, we haven't been in touch, but maybe that will change.

What caught me off guard was that we connected at all.  I'm not usually all that willing to engage strangers in conversation (especially on transit, after a whole collection of crazy experiences), but we'd boarded the bus together, from the place we were both working (she was a permanent employee at the place I was temping) and courtesy dictated at least a bit of conversation.  Oddly, I took it farther, asking all about her, her background and family, where she is from, how long she'd been in my city, and in Canada in general. 

I don't know if we'll ever connect again.  Maybe we will, maybe we won't.  But it's a moment that stands out.  One where a different part of me than usual took over, listening to an inner prompting to engage where I would normally retreat, and listening to that prompting voice led to a fascinating conversation, and many prayerful thoughts.  It was definitely a moment that touched my soul in new ways.

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 9

Today's Daily 5:

1. wearing a top I really like, and hadn't worn in a while
2. an email inbox down to zero
3. ordering subscriptions to two favorite magazines
4. unexpected and somewhat therapeutic tears
5. laughing and playing with a two year old and giggling with friends from house church over all sorts of random and goofy stuff.

A Prayer to the God of Ebb and Flow

Some time ago, in the midst of my nightly reading, I flagged a prayer, with the same title as this post, written by Henri Nouwen, as something that I absolutely needed to share with all of you.  And today is the day for it!  Here you are:

A Prayer to the God of Ebb and Flow

Dear Lord, today I thought of the words of Vincent van Gogh: "It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.  You are the sea.  Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts and changes in my inner life, you remain the same.  Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover.  Out of your love I came to life; by your love I am sustained; and to your love I am always called back.  There are days of sadness and days of joy; there are feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there are moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them are embraced by your unwavering love.

My only real temptation is to doubt in your love, to think of myself as beyond the reach of your love, to remove myself from the healing radiance of your love.  To do these things is to move into the darkness of despair.

O Lord, sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know that there is an ebb and flow but that the sea remains the sea.  Amen.
(Seeds of Hope, pg. 88)