Louisiana Weekend

After a crazy month at work getting ready for the spring break camp trip I caught my breath for a couple of days and then packed the Camry for a solo road trip to Lousiana. I really love traveling by myself (and with Dale Allen) since it gives me the chance to pop in a "book on tape" which brings back those sweet feelings of being read to:-) I listened to some Southern fiction and it made the miles just fly by! I got to Dan & Bre's Wednesday late afternoon, just in time for a yum dinner of roast beef - Dan's specialty! After dinner we took Sparty (love this little dog!) for a walk in beautiful, quaint downtown St. Francisville.

One of my favorite places to go when I visit the kids is Afton Villa, a plantation that burned down in the 1960's and has been made into a beautiful garden. There's portions of the house still remaining such as steps, a mantle, archways all surrounded by perennials and annuals artfully arranged. There's also a small family cemetery with old tombstones. I love old cemeteries. The whole place is so peaceful - I love going there and hope that sometime I'll have time to take my journal and camera and spend a few hours of solitude there.

Birdman Coffee and Books has moved to a new, bigger location but is still cute and homey and my sweet potato waffle was delicious! The food in Lousisana is one of its wonderful features - so distinct and unique!

This is Grace Episcopal church and I love walking through the cemetery that surrounds this amazing old structure.

On Saturday night we drove down to Tony's Seafood in Baton Rouge and picked up fresh crawfish and shrimp for dinner. Finger food at its finest!

Shopping, watching the MSU victory, driving 3 hours to a Young Life banquet in Mississippi, a delectable shrimp po'boy at the Mag, watching Sparty torment the kitties, visiting Bre at school, lots of conversation and laughter.......it was a really wonderful weekend!

a second cup of coffee

after the mad rush of preparing for the Southwind Spring break trip.....
280 health forms
102 calls from concerned middle schoool moms
20 emails per day from D.V.
182 schedule changes
and a 12 hour work day on Saturday......

time to catch my breath and catch up in the other areas of my life....relishing the sense of accomplishment of a job well done as those 5 busses pull out of the parking lot on Sunday morning.....realizing "you were made for this" (Young Life's tag line) even though at times this job makes me pull my hair out with frustration.

helped dale stack firewood and rake the backyard in the beautiful spring sunshine yesterday and it felt so good to be outside and moving my body after so many hours in the office these past couple of weeks!

loving this morning as i'm still in my fluffy white robe with a second cup of Community coffee...taking time to read and write and blog and send cards and order Shutterfly pics and all that stuff i love to do that gets pushed aside when i'm so busy with an event at work.

taking the whole morning off to get ready to celebrate Joe's 22nd birthday!! going into the office in a few hours to soak in the peace and quiet there as the whole staff is at Southwind....

and start getting ready for the GOLF TOURNAMENT?!?!?!?!

a funny little thing

Isn't this a cute cute clock from my Kiley friend?! I love it and here's a funny little thing about it - the hands have stopped at this time - the hour hands are totally stationery and the minute hand makes a futile attempt at moving on but it can't so it's always 1:44 and that just makes me smile every time I look at it. I refuse to try and fix it since it's really trying to remind me the time to be happy is NOW !!

jammy time

Every single Christmas until we got too cool for school my mom would make a new flannel nightie for me and Nancy. We never ever saw her working on them before we received them but there was always a familiar squishy package under the tree for each of us girls. They were soooo soft and always pink and each stitch was filled with love. On cold Michigan winter mornings we would stand over the grates of the floor furnace and our nighties would billow out around us like sails.

While mom was in the hospital doing chemo I stayed at her apartment and I got in the habit of putting on her white terry bathrobe - it was almost as good as having her arms around me in a hug. When she passed away I brought it home with me and every time I put it on I am reminded of her love and warmth.

Blasts from the Past

I'm running out of winter for my winter projects - one of which is to scan a bunch of old pics onto my computer! Finally started today and what fun it is!!

Tender tears as I look into the eyes of my Grandpa and Grandma W. on their wedding day, laughter at the picture of my three big brothers and me with Patches - the goat that butted me all over the yard, sighs over the swift passage of time, quiet praise for so many blessings!

Once again I am soooo thankful for today's technology that allows me to keep these precious memories safe for years to come!

Holy Ground

The Scripture reference is Exodus 3 when Moses approached the burning bush and the Lord said "Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground."

Macrina writes.....

"Take off your shoes...when a new person comes into your life like a mystery about to unfold and you find yourself marveling over the frailty and splendor of every human being."

Holy Ground

Last night I spent a few hours with a new acquaintance in one of my favorite spots in Chatt. Next to the boccee ball court on the Bluff View there are tables and chairs and they're seldom used. It's a beautiful quiet spot for Rembrandts coffee and conversation. Last night there was the bonus of a full moon. My companion sat with her back to the moon and I received the gift of watching that moon slowly rise behind her glowing its reflection on the Tennessee River.

Holy Ground

The words flowed easily as we peeked and poked into each others past and discovered our frailities and splendors and as the moon rose so did the promise of a new friendship and future possibilities.

Holy Ground

Rerouted

U.S. 27 North is under construction which makes my usual route to work congested and slow - so I've started taking a couple of different ways to work in the morning and really enjoying the change of scenery. How quickly we get in comfortable regular ruts......

Having breast cancer was a detour of sorts. It derailed my status quo and forced me to walk down some different paths I'd never experienced before. The new roads brought a new perspective and innumerable lessons.

Lately I find myself having to become more and more involved in Young Life as the ministry continues to grow and my work load increases. When I looked at that recent picture of all the leaders, current and new, my heart was overwhelmed with love and also a renewed sense of responsibility and committment to do my part well to enable them to do their part well. This means not only doing the administrative paperwork part well but also having time to talk and listen when a leader plops down in the"third red chair" that Babs and I have in our office.

I can't be as involved with New City and urban ministry as when we first moved down here and I've been fighting feelings of guilt and confusion but just this week the Lord allowed me to let that go and relax in His plan for my life that is ever changing, ever new, ever challenging. How often I try to tell Him what that plan is instead of going with the flow of His faithfulness and provision.

I love that line "when you can't see His hand, trust His heart." I can trust His heart! When He said "Follow me" so many years ago He didn't reveal the details of the journey but promised that He would always be one step ahead preparing the way. He sees the vistas before I do and delights in the moment when I stop my questioning and fussing and just inhale the beauty. I'm inhaling.