crazy, crazy, crazy
FOUR days from now, I’ll
be Hawaii bound :)
snuggled up in my baby's arms in our new bungalow, together (best part)…
all this selling half our
stuff and moving to an island…
I
tend to think it’s the stuff great adventures and dreams are made of…
our new adventure, Hawaii,
has me thinking…
and reflecting on these
wonderful five years here in Cali…
on what we did well… what we
did not-so-well…
on how we want to do some
things differently… better…
& what began as faint,
almost imperceptible evaluations,
Has led to a lot of
learning… about myself, our life, my God…
it has, firstly, left me
continually overwhelmed
by just how much I need Jesus every moment of my life…
beyond that, the
following, in no particular order, is today’s random thought dump...
#randomthoughtsdump1#
This beach-loving girl is
ready to live at the beach. I can’t get
enough of it; that drama and warmth, the power of land, light, sky & water…
What
is it about an ocean view? There’s magic
in it….
We wanted to be as close
to the water as possible… to hear the waves, feel the breezes… to perch
ourselves out on our lanai and watch the ocean as it peacocks its hundred
shades of blue before our eyes… Our Hawaiian home is 400ft from the ocean ;)
makes rocking a condo totally worth it…
#randomthoughtsdump2
“Live in the sunshine,
swim in the sea, drink in the wild air.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Life
on a board is a romantic notion… one I’ll
be diving headfirst into… In this next
season I’m committing to live in the moment more fully; to fill our evenings
and weekends with each other, friends, & island adventures… Technology has
given us 24/7 lives—a blessing & a curse (which is all I have to say on that
topic)… but I’m ready for a change of pace… less of certain things, more of
others… i.e. less rush, more savoring; less consuming, more creating; less
busywork, more impact; less driving, more walking; less TV, more reading; less
junk food, more real food; less shopping, more outdoors….
1hour 45mintues less of my
husband’s 2hour commute each day, 1hour 45mintues more with him each evening… :)
#randomthoughtsdump3#
voluntary simplicity
embracing quality over
quantity
I’ll admit it, initially I
wasn’t stoked about trading our beautiful, sprawling 3000 square foot dream home
for a dirty, dumpy, 1200 square foot condo—which was built in the 70’s and
requires a complete blood/sweat renovation no less… But now... I can’t wait! Our new place has just the right amount of
space we need for the day-to-day. In
this case, less is more. Especially if
you know me—my self-proclaimed psychological status is a recovering
perfectionist—which makes this new less-is-more perspective even truer when
applied to me... Less to clean/maintain/dust/upkeep… more time for each
other/friends/neighbors/exploring/adventures…
I mean, hello, its
Hawaii! I’ll take sunsets over plasma screens any day
of the week…
In preparation for less
square footage, and as I’ve been packing up our life into boxes, I’ve tried really hard to only keep what we love…
to simplify…
a lot has been written
about simplifying one’s life…
but, it seems to me, that
there are really only two steps to simplifying…
1.
Identify what is
most important to you
2.
Eliminate
everything else
voluntary simplicity- a
manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich
#randomthoughtsdump4#
When we are walking in the
thing that God made us to do we are always home, no matter where we
travel. And there is overflowing joy, even in
the middle of such an exhausting and demanding transition… I guess, when we are doing that thing that
God calls us to do, there is a peace and joy no matter where that takes us. That doesn’t mean it’s easy or
effortless. But it does mean that there
is a deep sense of satisfaction and peace in the middle of it. And when we walk boldly into that scary thing
He made for us, something amazing happens; He answers our doubt with His
peace. God’s strength meets our
uncertainties and faith grows as we experience God with us.
#randomthoughtsdump5#
I can barely remember what
happened yesterday... Life can be busy. I tend to be task-driven. I need to remember to remember, if that makes
any sense.
But, when I’m in the
practice of searching for God throughout my day, and as I in the see Him in the
seemingly mundane and send up my thankfuls for His love, life is sweeter.
Perhaps
only I will understand this… but like anything else in life, you get better at
things with practice—so, as I practice looking at life through the eyes of
faith, searching for God’s solutions to whatever today holds, the more and the quicker I see Him… It’s one of the reasons I
click away on my camera—to stay in the habit of looking for God in the
day-to-day. It’s also why I write—to help
me remember to search for His voice in today… to actively stop find joy in His
plans for me, and then to capture it on paper, savor it, remember it. Gotta keep writing, even if it means I don’t
get to sleep… ;)
#randomthoughtsdump6#
The most repeated
commandment in the Bible is “Do not fear,” It’s there over 200 times. That means a couple of things if you think
about it. It means we are going to be
afraid and it means we shouldn’t let fear boss us around… Fear isn’t only a
guide to keep us safe; it’s also a manipulative emotion that can trick you into
living a boring life…
And really, as a redeemed
daughter what do I have to fear?
“The Lord is for me; I
will not fear; What can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6
No comments:
Post a Comment