Project 365 - Day 157

We went to early service today which made it possible to worship behind Olivia and her tambourine! Olivia worships the Lord with her entire being - her heart, soul, mind and body - but not at all in a distracting way but a way that leads others to praise Him too! Even this middle age white Dutch woman - I dance a little easier and sing a little louder when I'm near Olivia! So thankful for New City Fellowship!!

Projects (in general)

With my BFF feeling under the weather I've had to entertain myself tonight which usually means spreading a big mess all over the breakfast nook table with a project. Give me some Scotch tape, a sharp pair of scissors, a great ink pen and I'm a happy woman. I usually make sure I have my journal, my calendar, and of course the trusty Dell nearby too.

Tonight's project was something I always do after I've filled a journal before I start a new one. I go through it and type the different quotes I've copied in it throughout the months into an Excel file of Quotes, putting them in on different worksheets by subject such as Heart, Grace, Marriage, Friendship, Faith, Suffering, Solitude, etc. Then if I need to quick reference one to put in a card or an email there they are! My memory is soooo poor and this way I don't lose these words that touched my heart enough to want to scribe them in my journal over the past few months. It was so fun going through and seeing the words again tonight as I typed them.

Here are books that really captured my heart in the past 6 months, this "community of friends on my shelves" as Luci Shaw says in the first book on the following list:-)

"Breath for the Bones" ~ Luci Shaw
"Running on Empty" ~ Fil Anderson
"Invitation to Solitude and Silence" ~ Ruth Haley Burton
"The Year of Living Like Jesus" ~ Ed Dobson
"Journalkeeping" ~ Carl Koch
"The Rabbi's Heartbeat" ~ Brennan Manning
"Hustling God" ~ Craig Barnes
"Traveling with Pomegranates" ~ Sue Monk Kidd
"The Furious Longing of God" ~ Brennan Manning
"Our Town" ~ Thorton Wilder
"The Weathering Grace of God" ~ Ken Gire
"A New Kind of Normal" ~ Carol Kent
"Small Graces" ~ Ken Nerburn
"An Altar in the World" ~ Barbara Brown Taylor
"Dangerous Wonder" ~ Michael Yaconelli
"Good Poems" - compilation of poems by Garrison Keillor

Project 365 - Day 156

I was planning on the picture of the day being something quaint like the Cookie Jar Cafe restaurant, one of our favorite "scenic drive" places to eat. Or maybe the unique setting of the Coke Oven Bluegrass Festival up in Dunlap. But neither was meant to be since D.A. is not feeling well - upset stomach, poor thing! So it's been a quiet afternoon on the Court after a long, hot walk and talk with friend Anne. So the pic of the day is the GTCA filled with loved objects - pictures of my family, a candle, fresh flowers, an iron cross from St. Francisville, a doily crocheted by mom. Below is a picture of how we hung the letters from Laura above the doorway going into the kitchen. There are worse places to spend an afternoon and evening, that's for sure. Very thankful for this cozy home!

Project 365 - Day 155

Short but sweet time with the Barre family tonight (my friend Julie's sister's family)! They drove here from their home near Chicago on their way to Disney World. We went to The Blue Plate for dinner and then Clumpies for dessert. Chattanooga was not showing off its weather, that's for sure, but we still had a great time in spite of the buckets of rain coming down. Lots of conversation and laughter - so glad they stopped in!

Project 365 - Day 154

Great time tonight in one of my favorite places in Chattanooga - it's one of its best kept secrets too since it's seldom busy! I met my friend Melissa and my brand new friend, Emily, Melissa's sister, for Rembrandts deliciousness and deluxe Scrabble!

It was a perfect Southern summer evening and we had so much fun. After Scrabble we went to Melissa's and had homemade cinnamon ice cream. Just a lovely, lovely evening!!

Project 365 - Day 153

I really love the short walk from the front door to my car every morning to see what's blooming that particular day! The Easter lilies just came out this week! They are extra special to me because they were in the flower arrangement that the Young Life staff sent to me when my dad passed away. The pinkish purplish yarrow has been blooming for a couple of weeks already and the purple coneflowers behind the lilies should start any day! Every day I cheer on the morning glory plant that I started from seed - it's about 1/3 of the way up the mailbox pole and in no time at all it will completely cover the pole and the mailbox - so fun to watch that grow! When we moved here there were NO flowers at all in the yard and I love having my own cut flowers again!!

Project 365 - Day 152

This past weekend was the 8th Anniversary of our move to Chattanooga from Michigan. I thought it would be fun to take a picture of the house as it looked in the winter of 2002 when we came to start working on it and how it looks today in June of 2010. What a difference! To be fair to the house I should have taken this in the winter months of this year before all the blooms and buds were out:-) But there it is.....what alot of changes have taken place in the house at the end of the Court - the house that was waiting for us to move in to and love.

Every anniversary of our move here is a time to stop and reflect on what brought us here and what has happened since we came. What are we doing that we thought we would be doing? Who are we with that we thought we would be with? What people have come and gone from our lives during these 8 years? What losses and gains have we experienced? What lessons have been written indelibly on our hearts through all of this?

It is still a funny fit to me but it is a fit. Yesterday when I was serving potato salad and slaw at the Woodlawn Block party, greeting church members and residents of Woodlawn, and having the time of my life, I knew all over again that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I love being taken out of my comfort zone over and over again as I encounter the variety of cultures I find myself in - Young Life, Urban, New City, Southern.....sometimes it's frustating as heck but I know I love it and would miss it if I wasn't here.

So many years ago in my journal at various times I would write something to the effect that I had the feeling I would be moving away at some point in my life and I asked the Father to reveal that place in His perfect timing......He did and I am grateful.