The Leaves are Falling

Do you see it? I made sure that you couldn't miss it.


Change is coming. I can smell it in the leaves. I can hear it rustle as the trees drop their dead weight to the ground. I can feel it through my occasional donned long sleeve shirt. My body senses the light of day shortening as it longs to stay in bed a few more minutes.


My children welcome the change. Mr. Smackdown doesn't want the Hottie Hubbie to mow, for fear of crushing the change. For fear of ruining the change. He wants to run through the leaves with childhood abandon. He wants to savor the moment. He wants to take every moment of life in. He wants to live. He does live passionately.


As Mr. Smackdown and Mr. Me-Too were ferried around this weekend, they were silent before creation. Awed by turtles, canoe rides, and time with Daddy and Papa.


As I waited with Willow (my camera) for the boat ride to come to completion, I voiced my concern to God about the change in the air. I am not excited about the shorter days. I am not excited to be inside. I am restless like the leaves that fight to travel the farthest, angered by the fence that blocks them in.


And in a quiet, but rather firm voice. I heard God say, "Shut it." Live passionately in the loud moments, in the still moments, in the crazy moments, in any moment. Live fully in every moment.

This won't be the last you hear me speak of this . . . .

Restlessness . . .

Change . . . .

Desire to edit my story . . . .

Breathe

16th of June, nine-oh-five, door bell rings
Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer
There's a few things I need you to know
Three

Coming from a long line of
Traveling sales people on my mother's side
I wasn't gonna buy just anyone's cockatoo
So why would I invite a complete stranger into my home
Would you

These days are better than that
These days are better than that

Every day I die again, and again I'm reborn
Every day I have to find the courage
To walk out into the street
With arms out
Got a love you can't defeat
Neither down nor out
There's nothing you have that I need
I can breathe
Breathe now

16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up
And I'm coming down with some new Asian virus
Ju Ju man, Ju Ju man
Doc says you're fine, or dying
Please
Nine-oh-nine, St. John Divine on the line, my pulse is fine
But I'm running down the road like loose electricity
While the band in my head plays a striptease

The roar that lies on the other side of silence
The forest fire that is fear so deny it

Walk out into the street
Sing your heart out
The people we meet
Will not be drowned out
There's nothing you have that I need
I can breathe
Breathe now
Yeah, yeah

We are people borne of sound
The songs are in our eyes
Gonna wear them like a crown

Walk out, into the sunburst street
Sing your heart out, sing my heart out
I've found grace inside a sound
I found grace, it's all that I found
And I can breathe
Breathe now
--U2

What is something that you want to learn about?

I have a gazillion things that I personally would like to write about, but the words simply aren't coming. I am passionate about many things and sometimes get flustered in the activity of all that I am cataloging in my brain to learn about, try, or throw away. So I came up with an idea to get my creative juices flowing. I want to know what would you, my reader, would like to learn about. This can be something that I could blog about for you or would allow me to hear about your dreams and passions. Here are some ideas, a sampling of things that I still would like to learn more about:

1. how to achieve consistent home organization
2. using biblical essential oils
3. creating a wide readership of my blog
4. healing my thyroid
5. techniques to maintain Bible memorization
6. growing big yellow onions and hearty carrots
7. Greek
8. interesting, healthy, sprouted, fresh lunches that my children will eat
9. harvesting and storing seeds from my garden to plant the following year
10. read music and play the guitar

So leave a comment and let me know what you would like to learn about. Tell a friend and have them leave a list. Better yet, become a follower and I will be sure to blog about one of your learning dreams!

Lack of a caffeine buzz

I have taken the plunge, or lack of a plunge, for two days. No caffeine, unless you count the buzz in green tea, which actually is more medicinal than stimulating. Why am I doing this? I like caffeine and I love having my morning cup of chai as I sit and read my bible, while constantly having a little boy pursue me with relentless passion to see what new thing he has built. I can carefully hide my mouth with my HUGE mug that either smiles in pleasure at his new creation, or frown because I so desperately want to be alone for JUST 5 minutes. However, the habit must go, as I found myself sneeking chai's and consuming up to three a day. You just can't lose weight drinking 2 chai's a day with raw whole milk and nice fresh local honey. Giving up the smell of those bitter tea leaves before they are dropped in--I am sad to see this 7 year habit disappear. I suppose I will start inviting more people over, so that I can make my company chai.

But I know that this habit can be overcome, even though it has been practiced for 2,555 days. I'm reading a great book, Getting to No: How to Break a Stubborn Habit, by Erwin Lutzer. To overcome a habit I must remember and believe three things, one of which has stuck to my bones more than the cream in my chai: I must believe that God is good. (Does this remind you of Aslan in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe?) "If you can accept that God is good, two results will follow: First, you will realize that you can surrender to Him without reservations or fear of being cheated; second, you will thirst for change, understanding that the temporary watering holes of the world cannot compare to the everlasting springs of life that are in Christ."

If I know that God is good, and wants my good, then I can part with my stubborn sin, knowing that God will replace it with something better. What is the better? Right now, probably weight loss, a closer walk with Him, getting rid of the idol of food, a lower grocery bill, and more energy to play with my family.

OK . . . time for some green tea. It just isn't the same. But hey, 40 days to make a habit? Pretty soon, plain old tea will feel like a treat. Right?