a case of the Mondays!

Definitely a case of the mondays today!  So glad there are only 2 more minutes left!  I know it's because I had to work some this weekend and didn't get done what I wanted to.  Oh well.  I am not going to be too hard on myself about it.  It's only Monday afterall...got a few more days to get things done.  I did get through a big stack of mail today, and put down a deposit for a new hot water heater, and go to a meeting for an organization that I volunteer for...all that plus work!  I guess it could be a good day after all!

it's 1 am and I am still awake

So if you know me, you know that I don't sleep well. The problem is not so much in the actual sleep, but more in the dreaming. I have some pretty crazy dreams on a pretty regular basis and they are not too fun. In fact some might even call them nightmares, as they can be quite oppressing. The thing is when i have a bad dream, it makes me not want to sleep. Sleep for the rest of that night is basically shot...which is the raw end of the deal because these dream have a tendency to happen only an hour or so into the night. But eventually I fall back asleep. Sometimes it happens again in the same night and sometimes there is a reprieve. But the thing about it is, I just don't know. I never know when they are going to strike, so I am always kind of waiting in anticipation...preparing myself for the worst. It is difficult to describe the dream except to say that it is oppressive...like something is pushing me down or holding me down. I have tried to analyze it and I have no answers. But this is just to set up the fact that as a result of these sleeping issues I have tried to be better about things like getting into a routine at night and not drinking too much caffeine. Well, I have been very good about the caffeine thing, but you must know that I love Coca Cola Classic (for those who lived through the New Coke fiasco.) In fact I have been so good that I began to drink a can of coke yesterday and had to put it down before finishing half of it. But today I finished the other half in the morning and then at dinner had some more. First rule broken--more than a half a can of coke in a day. Second rule broken--after 2pm!! Well I hear you caffeine...I know your effects on me. I will put you back in the place you belong tomorrow...if you would please let me sleep tonight! Lesson learned. :)

New beginnings

We are beginning a series at church based on the book The Beautiful Fight by Gary Thomas.  It is providing both the structure for the sermons as well as the material for our small group time. I will share more about it in the future, but there were five points our pastor wanted us to take away from today's sermon:

1. The man Christ Jesus is in Heaven.
2. What He is, we will become-He will transform our lowly bodies.
3. The man Christ will return from Heaven to Earth.
4. Our citizenship is in Heaven.
5. Our mission field is the Earth.

Small group begins tonight as well.  I have really enjoyed being a part of this group for the past year.  It has changed a bit over time, as it should, we all change and so the things we participate in change as well...but it has consistently been a place of support, growth, and refuge for me.

--
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The Shack

So I just...really just in the last couple of minutes...finished the book The Shack written by William P. Young.  A friend suggested the book to me in July and again made the suggestion when I was in Denver, so knowing I was coming back to no power (=no tv) I picked the book up at the Denver airport so I would have something to occupy my time.

On the front cover of the book is the following quote by Eugene Peterson (author of The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language): This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his.  It's that great!"  A recommendation like that from one of my favorite contemporary theologians and I dove right into the book on the flight home.  Something to keep my mind of what I was returning to in South Louisiana after the wrath of Gustav was quite welcome.

At once I was captivated.  The book tells the tale of a father who had put distance between himself and God and the great lengths God goes to remove that distance.  Really, it could be the story of anyone of our lives as we have all taken experiences and things and even people and put them between God and ourselves.  Luckily, those barriers are only between us and God and not between God and us.  And that is part of the wonderful story that is told in the pages penned by Mr. Young.

Like I previously mentioned, I just finished the book and have a bit of processing to do.  It has definitely stuck a chord that I want to listen to more closely before.  But I did want to share with you one of my most favorite quotes from the book.  It comes from an interaction between a character named Papa and the main character Mack.  They are discussing a tough time in Mack's life that has caused him a lot of pain.  Papa responds to Mack's desire to heal with the the following statement.  "Honey, there's no easy answer that will take your pain away.  Believe me, if I had one, I'd use it now.  I have no magic wand to wave over you and make it all better.  Life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship."  So life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship.  Definitely, a phrase that stirred my soul.

One suggestion for you as you read this book...be willing to let it take you to the places you might not otherwise have ventured.  You may need a tissue now and then, but no doubt you will have company along with you on your journey.

And by the way, thanks Greg for the suggestion!

It had to end sometime

Today was my first day back in Baton Rouge following Hurricane Gustav.  I am sitting here typing by candlelight and listening to the sound of my neighbors generator.  I wasn't sure what to expect as all I really knew was that my neighborhood was hit pretty bad and there was no power.  Friends had been by my house to tell me that on the outside it looked fine.  Some rain did get into my sun room and get some things wet.  But a trip to the dry cleaners for my winter coats and all will be well.  It's an amazing site to see a tree that took decade of years to grow snapped in half or even uprooted as a result of the wind.  Something that you can not see...becomes an immovable force.  So many people don't believe in God because they can't see Him...I know I even struggle with that sometimes.  But no one will doubt that Hurricane Gustav blew through Baton Rouge, even if they couldn't see the wind, because they saw what the wind has done.

I have uploaded some pictures of my neighborhood which you can see by by clicking the title of this post.

I went to Denver on "Evacuation"*

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted and it is difficult to know where to start...but I will start with my trip to Denver for Labor Day weekend.  I struggled with whether or not to actually go as there was a storm brewing in the Gulf, but the overwhelming majority of people encouraged me to go ahead and go...so I did.  And it was so fun!  I stayed with P-unit (aka Phylis) and GVP (aka Greg) who I know from my involvement with the Post Katrina Hurricane Relief effort in New Orleans.  Phylis has been down on a record number of seven work trips.  It was great to see them and to be at their church with others that have come down as well, including Jessie, Steve, Kathryn, Kath, Kiki, Robyn, and countless others.  Jessie was on Son Servants summer staff last summer so I have also know her quite well.  She was in New Orleans with me for three weeks last summer.  I also got to meet Haven--the newest addition to P-unit's family and her grandson.  What a treat!  He's such an adorable three week old.  I love holding babies and he was no exception.  Other things that I got to do in Denver...spend an afternoon in Breckenridge, go to the Taste of Colorado, see my friend Tami and her family, get coffee with Tami and Rachel (fellow staff members from Young Life in Paris), take some fun pics (you can see some of the pics by clicking on the title of this post), go shopping, eat lots of good food, reconnect with Annie (another friend from Paris), catch a fun movie (Bottle Shock...I know you haven't hear of it, but it's pretty good and some of it takes place in Paris!!) with Jessie, and so much more.  I wish I had the time, energy, and battery to tell you all about it, but I do want to say thanks to all of you who made it so fun.

*"Evacuation" is what my friend Courtney called her family's stay in Memphis during and following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.