Up the Hill

This afternoon, I found myself to be entirely spent of any and all energy. Whilst palliating the complete lack of vigor with a nap, I was blessed with a rather peculiar dream... Dreams, I think, are incredibly personal things. They are the inner workings of the mind and how the brain processes your experiences and thoughts...  In general, my dreaming tends to be either complete story lines with extremely random plots or incoherent wandering through seemingly unconnected topics. However, this dream was very specific. 'Twas more of a memory, really; a vivid picture of something that had happened last weekend. Saturday last, I went down to Redondo Beach to help out with my cousin Nora's 7th birthday party. She was having a Fairy Hollow Scavenger Hunt and I was in charge of leading a group of first graders all across a wilderness park in order to collect "gems". One of the last clues led us up an extremely steep path to the top of a hill. All the little girls raced up the incline, slipping and falling on the treacherous hike but eager as ever to make it to the final prize at the top. It made me think of Jesus telling his disciples to "become like little children" (Matthew 18:3); humble before the Lord in order to reach the Kingdom of God. My little "fairies" had only one goal in mind, to reach the final treasure. Despite all of the bumps and hardships in reaching it, they took the narrow road, the direct route to the top of the hill. I realize that y'all have probably heard ten thousand sermons preached on what it really means to "be like little children", but watching my girls struggling up the hill, focused on the destination, made me truly think about the meaning. Kids take the most direct path. They don't overanalyze the issue and search for the easiest route. Instead, they charge full speed; "single-minded, forgetting the things behind and reaching out for the things ahead" (Phillipians 3:13).

"With this goal in mind I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ." (Phillipians 3:14)

Story of My Life

Today, it rained. The floating masses of water that have been hanging over our heads have finally let spill their contents over the earth... Rain is truly a miracle if ever I heard of one. I could sit for hours just listening to the ever-changing beat of the drops outside my window... Unfortunately, I don't have the time for such luxuries... However, on a late Friday afternoon, with nothing better to do, contemplating life is not a completely wasteful use of time. So that's what I did today. Between prayers of thanks for the amazing turn of weather, lazily reading novels, and plunking out skewed melodies on the keyboard, I found that I actually had time to take that moment of silence I was talking about in my last post of significance... I found my mind wandering around thoughts of the future and everything that it holds, both bitter and sweet. Isn't it amazing how He has something planned for each and everyone of us, more fantastic that what we could ever imagine? But no matter how many times I'm reminded of that, the fact continually slips from memory. I have to be reminded that even when we can't see where we're going and are afraid of hitting our knees in the dark, our Guide knows the path. While randomly flipping through the pages of my Bible, Proverbs 20:24 stood out from the page. It said, "The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?"... Talk about an applicable verse! Being naturally prone to worry, particularly about what is to come, learning that there is nothing I can do to change the future, no matter how much I wish I could just tweak a few things, is harder than climbing Mt. Everest, and if not for our Lord, nearly as cold a journey...........

Suck Fish and Knit Jerseys...

This post is really nothing more than the much awaited work-day pictures (Thank-you, Oksana!!)

 







Oh, and this lovely video. I don't knit to get my mind off of eating, honest! =)

http://yoplait.com/spots/yoplait_standalone.swf?video=0