This here's what my friend Marla calls a "swirly" post--this, that, and everything all mixed up together. I've got just a few minutes before I want to head out for my run, so let's see if I can get it all down.
We had a fabulous weekend. My friend Ali and her girls (who just happen to be my girls' best friends in AZ) came to visit. I loved it. There's something about moving and having friends come visit so I know they know where I am and what my home is like. Somehow I need to know they can picture where I am every bit as easily as I can picture where they are.
We drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a picnic on Friday, which sounded like such a good idea but then didn't seem so great as we got stuck in traffic for-stinkin'-ever and then in the midst of rain that made it impossible to get out and walk around Bear Lake or see any wildlife beyond ducks and squirrels.
But.
We had a lovely picnic by Sprague Lake and it only started to pour after we ate and made it to the car. Then we stopped in Estes Park at the Family Fun Center and went down the big slide, drove the bumper cars, and watched Audrey and Madie do the bungee trampoline thing. Caramel apples for the way home for the kids didn't hurt things either!
And by the time we got home, it was POURING rain. I love rain. We piled out of the car and I sent the girlies outside with strict instructions to dance their little hineys off. So they did. Laughed, "swam" in the gutters, splashed, and had a ball. Something tells me it's a memory they'll never forget. Ali and I stood in the garage and laughed our heads off at them. My face hurt from smiling so big.
(There are lots more photos of the day and videos of the big girls flying and flipping through the air on Facebook if you're my friend there.)
Ali and I got up and walked together every morning and we talked and talked and talked about so much: living in the moment, motherhood, being the girl I long to be, transformation, decorating, contrast, why we make things harder than they need to be, learning to bend and be flexible, and so so much more.
From my journal this morning:
"This is the first day of the rest of your life..." Can't remember the next line but woke up with that one lyric in my head over and over.
What do I want my life to be? What kind of disciple do I want to be? What kind of wife? Mother? Friend? Sister? Daughter?
Will I be her today?
Reminds me of Beth's teaching on "is to come" [The God Who Was, And Is, And Is to Come--from a Living Proof Live weekend with Beth Moore--so good!]--is that I how I live today? Because how I live in the present defines/shapes/determines my "is to come."
O Shepherd, help me live life w purpose and passion!
...I don't want to be a girl who talks a good game but never does what she says.
Spirit, please energize me. Cause me to act according to God's will. Grant me a spirit of cooperation and trust.
It is in you I live and move and have my being. Please make me active! Prompt me and give me courage. For I need you in this. Without you I am simply talk and a step or two before quitting. But with you? I can run and not grow weary. How I long for that!
And yesterday I read this from Jesus Saves (love, love, love this quick devotional and underlined the WHOLE thing yesterday):
"My grace is sufficient for you, but it's sufficiency is for one day at a time... Your job is to recognize your neediness and receive what I offer."
And somehow I ended up in Psalm 40:17, which is what I'm going to memorize for Memory Monday this week:
Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay. (Psalm 40:17)
I've also been reading Hinds' Feet on High Places and its sequel, Mountains of Spices. So wonderful. Hadn't read them in years, but my friend Christy was reading the first one and I decided to reread it so we could talk about it! I am finding so much to learn in their pages. Which is a whole other post since this is getting long.
(They are allegories--stories of following the Shepherd to the High Places and being transformed. And definitely books to read with a pen in hand to underline and make notes in the margin.)
One thing I love is that Much Afraid (who is transformed into Grace and Glory) lives out this verse so beautifully and cries out for the Shepherd without shame. And he comes! Quickly. With joy. Willing to help. With tenderness and care. Delighted to be called upon.
O my Shepherd, I need you so much. You are my help and my deliverer. Come quickly to me and let me live this day relying upon your grace. Help me be present in each moment today. Let me reflect your love to my family, find joy and delight in your presence, speak words that affirm and encourage. Let me not forget that you are near.
Alrighty then. Love you loads. Have a great Monday!
The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:5