ok, Lens asked me to post ten random things about myself, then tag ten people to do the same....

1. this makes me nervous.

2. i think i would be a great dancer.

3. i'm glad i drive a mini-van. now it is expected that i drive with caution.

4. i can eat an 18-inch grinder from Bellacinos. yep. 18 inches.

5. i weigh more than you think i do (see 4).

6. i'm talking to Lens right now about typing this thing she asked me to do.

7. i think rereading good books is like seeing a familiar face when you've been lost in a crowd.

8. i wish i could wear yellow.

9. sometimes i keep playing with the blocks even after my daughter has moved on.

10. i'm not sure i'll be able to think of ten people who'll do this.

heather, josh, jer, amanda, lisa, taylor, christi, keith, ryan, candace

go to

athansjourney.blogspot.com for updates.

love!

i'm moving my blog here. or maybe just adding another. either way, there's the link to the new one if you want it.

It's a boy! :)  Morgan is soon to have a little brother...

I'm excited and nervous...

and short on words about most of what I feel, I think.

i've been with people almost around the clock for almost 2 months.  not just ANY people - friends and family.  good friends and close family.  people who have nothing but my best good in mind.  we have traveled 1000s of miles to be with ever-more people.

and i, being the ungrateful slob that i am, am about to go nuts.  i'm used to great volumes of alone time, and deprivation thereof is starting to sink in.  in a world that rewards extroverts, i'm starting to think i must be really broken.  fundamentally flawed for resenting people who love us so...  aggressively.

case in point - i've been trying for 30 minutes to write a blog of some substance.  i've been interrupted 12 times by people who are taking such good care of me that i'm gonna crack.

and now i have to go.  we have dinner plans with more good friends.  the we'll come home to family, and i'll spend half the night in awkward conversation about plans i don't want to be a part of.  and we'll spend the weekend traveling to stay with more friends and see droves of people.  and they all just love us to death.

i feel like i should close with a smirk and some question alluding to "too much of a good thing."  i'll just sigh and go change.

ok, so there was really only one demand (see comments de Lindsey), which was really more of a request.  but i'll write anyway.

i'm pregnant.  which is great!  but the not-so-great part of pregnancy for me is that my "morning" sickness is 'round-the-clock nausea and vomit for about 10 weeks.  yuk.  and that means that i've been a non-participant in most of life for over 2 months now.  i'll be a much nicer person now that i can eat and sleep again.  promise.

my body is working better now, but my brain is...  well...  sluggish from inactivity, and overwhelmed trying to catch up on the past couple of months.  i'll try to write again soon with something of more substance. 

it is good to be back, though... 

My friend Courtney uses this word alot.  She's a fabulous cook, but that's not the context in which I hear it most.  She often refers to spending time with the Lord to "marinate" in His presence.  Isn't that a great word for it?! 

I think that is what will happen for Ryan and I here in Wilmore.  The air here is so thick with water that it's often difficult to breathe, and so thick with the Holy Spirit that He's difficult to miss and impossible to ignore!

We've met a sea of faces, and have already connected with some precious hearts here to marinate with us.  We've sat in Estes Chapel and added our tears to the altar that has been stained with so many over the years.  We have had sweet and difficult moments in marriage - moved to crisis and surrender by waves of His love.  And we haven't been here 2 full weeks yet!

I want to dive!  To soak in all I can (even when I think I'm drowning)...

welp, i'm tired.  (i'm also up at 5:30 a.m., but i'll get to that part in a sec.)

after we got home (at 2 a.m Sunday before last) from New Orleans, and after the precious reunion with my daughter (at 3 a.m. same day), we had about a week to pack and load the rest of our stuff and be out of our house.  on top of that, my dentist called on Monday inviting me in for major dental work on Tuesday.  yippie. 

but it's done.  i'm really tired, my jaw hurts (that's why i'm up right now waiting on pain meds to kick in), and i'm starting to get a little sad about leaving the Texas panhandle.  but i've had a good week, still.  so many people helped us pack and load and clean.  still others are letting us crash with them now that we're gypsies.  many more have prayed for us - more than we know, i'm sure.  it is humbling and deeply good to see Community like that.

i guess we'll be "floating" for the next few weeks.  some time here, some in Clovis...  then north and east to seminary in The Bluegrass State.

I just spent a week in New Orleans  with a group of 17 people from here in Borger.  We went with the purpose of serving some people there by helping them gut their houses that were ruined by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

I'm having a tough time wrapping my brian around anything well enough to write much here.  The devastation to the city that has been such a special place for me and so many others is too big to write about, and the devastation to individual lives of people we met is just as overwhelming.  Then, right in the middle of all the devastation, there is God.  He's showing up in the midst of brokenness and bringing redemption to unredeemable situations and lives.  The Church has shown herself beautiful in New Orleans in the aftermath of the hurricanes - believers and unbelievers alike have seen the Bride of Christ serving with humility and tenacity for a solid year. 

And in the midst of taking in all of the macro-things of the trip, there were things that moved increasingly nearer to me - micro-focus.  Loving and serving people with whom I traveled was the best and worst and most difficult and easiest part of the trip.  Learning more about Godly ways to handle conflict is TOUGH, but more important than I realized.  Facing my own issues of pride and control...  Swallowing unhelpful sarcasm until it nearly gagged me.  And watching 17 people do the hard, hard work of "loving each other to love the city of New Orleans" (thank you, Brandon).  Even when the van broke down, and we spent an unexpected 24 hours in Baton Rouge, the Lord was inviting us to keep loving and growing and serving and praising Him. 

Physically, I feel beat up.  My brain feels like it's been in a blender.  But my heart is good - thankful for the opportunity I had to serve and grow and love and learn.

I have seen a glimpse of the Lord in the land of the living!

Thanks to Him for showing up.  And to all of you who upheld me in prayer this week.

(if you want to see a blog that was updated during our trip, click here.)

  

Yesterday a funny thing happened. Actually, the thing itself wasn't "funny," exactly, but my reaction to it was... ok, just forget I ever said "funny." It's not what I meant. Maybe "interesting" is more like it. Whatever adjective, I've been thinking about it alot.

I'm staying in Clovis at my husband's parents' house, and yesterday I answered the phone for them (they were both busy playing with my kiddo, of course!). My brother-in-law was calling from MN, and he immediately recognized my voice. I was surprised - he didn't know I was going to be here, and he shouldn't have much reason to expect to hear my voice at his parents' house. Anyway, I told him I was surprised, and he said:

"You just have a unique voice. No one else I know talks like you."

The interesting part was the rush of warm fuzzies I felt when he said that. I'm not sure it was even meant to be a compliment - he could very well mean that I have a super-annoying voice that stands out among all other tolerable noises. I don't know. I do know that it felt good to be acknowledged as unique - even if the trait is trivial.

"You look like your dad, act like your mom, talk like your mentor, think like most of your friends, parrot every funny line or story you hear, and try to write like Donald Miller."

Ok, so genetics play a part, and sometimes I'm a chameleon. And I'm even GLAD that much of the good part of me is a reflection of spending time with people I love and respect.

And I also have MY smile (not just mom's). I can be funny all by myself sometimes, and I'm capable of original thought (even if it IS sparked by a good author or conversation). I'm not JUST a mirror. Some of my contribution to this world is original.

I have a unique voice, and someone noticed, and it was nice.

Thanks, Jordan.