thought I had already blogged

I guess when you are as preoccupied as I am you begin to dream things but don't make them realities. This too shall pass.

Tomorrow is the beginning of our travels across the world. We drive to Michigan to stay in a hotel overnight then commence our flying in the morning, when Evan is no longer eleven but a huge TWELVE! We hope whatever meager party we can throw him in the hotel room suffices. I have a hunch that it will.

We are going to experience Chicago, Japan, Singapore and finally Papua New Guinea over a number of days. Glad to be breaking up the trip with a few layovers and hoping the boys love flying. It's been quite a while for me and some years for Neal. The on board movies look alright and we will be served a few meals in the air. I trust all will go well and know that God is with us. We are also really hoping our guitars make it ok as this will be a nagging thought all the while that we travel.

How vain it sounds to write that, but if you write, play and sing like we do, then you'll understand.

the Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY... Monday, July 14

Outside My Window... My in-laws have a garden that is rivaled only by Smallworld's. The tranquility and imagination I unearth while basking under sun-drenched wisteria is serenity at its best.

I am thinking... I should take lappy out on to the deck, so I can hear the birds, but it's plugged in.

I am thankful for... restless sleeps and crazy dreams.

From the kitchen... I am about to make myself a perfect cup of Organic Numi and step out into the brilliant world once I finish this post. Tea simply tastes better out of doors.

I am wearing... great board shorts I bought in Grand Bend and a light brown Reebok Original tee; my favourite toe ring.

I am creating... another study guide that I should have published and sold already but got lazy about.

I am going... to swim in the lake, later ...

I am reading... The Jane Austen Book Club

I am hoping... to embrace many things

I am hearing... the quiet tick-tock of the old-fashioned mantle clock and the delicious sound of pages in a book being slowly turned by my oldest son. I wonder how to write that sound?

Around the house... Grandma is downstairs on her computer and the boys are watching a Discovery Chanel program. Neal just left to go on a bike ride.

One of my favorite things... sharing a meal with people who validate who I am becoming and make me strive to get there. Especially if chips, potato Caesar salad and sausages are involved or it is called a grill-out.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: taking malaria pills for the first time and finally deciding which books simply cannot come with me. I am unsure which is going to be the more difficult thing to actually "do"

Sunday Spiritual?

I have a list of things to blog about each day of the week. Why? In case of fickleness, which is a common occurrence with me, and also because I am a first-born girl that used to be choleric and finds her need to control re-surfacing more often lately. But I digress.
I thought that Sunday Spiritual held a lot of possibility ... then there was today.



While we did enjoy an incredible service this morning at our home church (hopefully it is the last Sunday because we fly out this Thursday) and the message was poignant, what got me going were the open air concerts in the afternoon;
it usually IS music that gets me
~ music soothes the savage beast



Art in the Park is something I helped to organize this past bunch of months but, due to our leaving for the field, was unable to participate in, or so I thought. It has gone over incredibly well, only getting rained out yesterday for the afternoon. After church we ate peanut butter sandwiches and sat on a quilt, listening to some good friends playing at their best. We were also able to give out many much-needed goodbye hugs and shed a few happy "see you in a couple of years" tears as well.

The spiritual part? Nourishment for the soul,engaging ourselves with some truly talented but humble friends. Starting with the Young Company's remount of Alice in Oil Town, and ending with Neil Blackstock and Steve Carapiet, we were entertained and emotionally filled. It didn't hurt, either, that one of the selections was Josh Turner's Long Black Train

It is truly amazing how much time flies by when you are living out of a suitcase. It is not amazing how wrinkly your clothes become.
One of the many things I am doing to get more prepared for our impending flight (please, Lord ... any day now) is skimming the myriad of novels I thought I *had* to take with me. As a self-professed bibliophile, leaving just one book behind has the potential to completely ruin my next two plus years. I mean, what if the exact piece of information, inspiration or wisdom is in a book I left behind? As Kerrie says, "oh my stars!".

so ... this morning I skimmed through Sheri Rose Shepherd's Preparing Him for the Other Woman and decided it was a must-take. Good thing it is relatively smallish.
Then I began skimming John Macarthur's The Fulfilled Family. This is what touched me

"(Paul)...acknowledged the power of (a mother's) role in the home, saying, 'Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control' 1 Timothy 2:11-15. He obviously could not have meant that childbirth is the way of spiritual salvation or redemption from sin for women. That would violate the clear biblical truth that we are saved by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). What Paul meant is that women are saved from insignificance and frustration by their role in the home and the family. God has given them powerful influence that equals and in many ways exceeds the impact of the husband's headship".

yah, baby, yah!

I may put upon myself confusion, frustration and even disillusionment over many things in my life but the one thing I know for certain, besides my salvation, is that I have never regretted one minute spent at home. I love how John Macarthur interprets that section of scripture ... that I am saved from INSIGNIFICANCE and FRUSTRATION through my role of wife and mom. We aren't talking about switching to megalomania or fits of grandeur, but the simple and sure realization that in doing those seemingly small tasks on a regular, daily basis, and finding true joy in the process, we are doing exactly what we were meant to do ... and nothing else has to matter.

and I pondered that at home

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY... Monday, July 7

Outside My Window... I see a myriad of fireflies and hear the gentle lapping of Lake Huron across the road.

I am thinking... that our visas are taking so long to be processed it feels as though I am never really going to leave this place but I also feel as though I no longer "fit"

I am thankful for... small town Ontario truck stops and CAA premium.

From the kitchen... the lights are off now and my tea was finished up an hour ago. The occasional gurgle from the water cooler reminds me I am still awake.

I am wearing... a bright yellow nightie, perfect for summer and reminiscent of my younger baby doll pajama days.

I am creating... a journal to remember these roller coaster days.

I am going... to go to sleep soon, perchance to dream ...

I am reading... The Shack. Actually I finished it yesterday and I still dislike it.

I am hoping... to be proven wrong

I am hearing... the chill pad underneath my husband's laptop; the keys like stillettos on many ant feet as I type.

Around the house... two tired and bummed boys trying to get to sleep and Grandpa and Grandma listening to the television downstairs, the sound echoing in the hall ourside my room.

One of my favorite things... seeing Karen and Tim at the beach with their train, saying our hellos then skipping stones, just Neal and me.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Do I dare say flying?

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

first of all, do you have any idea how immensely bright a computer screen is at almost 5am when you have had insomnia all night?

ee.chee.wah

One good thing about insomnia is that it leaves you with large pockets of thinking time. Tonight, instead of sleeping, I made a discovery about myself; I am not relational.

barely at all.

see, I always thought I was, in a big way, but now I see the ruse. It wasn't until we started getting seriously ready to go overseas that I saw myself for who I really am. I am task oriented and have always made fun of other task oriented people along the way. Being task oriented helps explain what makes me an artist, too. Artists, musicians and writers love to hole themselves up, creating and ignoring the fact that they have tasks to complete like eating, bathing or even using the washroom. I have been this way countless times. I do love to be relational on my own terms, however. Examples:

1. I have already completed an immense number of tasks and simply need a break,ergo, I go relational.

2. I do not like the task I am supposed to be completing and choose to be relational instead. This is easy. I call b and go over for tea. She usually has the same task as me to complete and it is not difficult to twist her arm. Neither of us verbalizes our escape technique, we simply act it out.

So, here I am, shortly after 5 am, not having slept much at all this night wondering why I am so eager to be awake and making another realization about myself ... right now I have horrible breath.