The Wonder of it All

Aug14

It’s too bad that we can’t remember back to when we were newborn babies. What would we think of all the new sites, sounds and smells that were bombarding us from our first moments in the light? When we try to see things through a baby’s eyes, we get some idea of why they cry. It’s too loud! It’s too bright! Something about me feels funny! Who are all these people, anyway?

I think my new parakeet, Jasper, must feel the same way. We got him yesterday after deciding the sun conure we were pet sitting was too much bird for us. Jasper is just a baby. In the matter of a few moments, he was snatched rudely from the crowded pet store enclosure (and who knows what indignities he had suffered before even getting to that place?), confined to a small cardboard box where it was dark and cramped; carried, albeit carefully, into a large metal structure that made funny noises, moved to another habitat, surrounded by gawking people and placed into this cage where that same bunch of people continued to stare at him, talk to him and encourage him that it was all going to be OK.

Right.

After sitting on the bottom of the cage nearly the whole day, Jasper (named after the green jasper gemstone which he resembles in coloring) did hop up onto one of the perches. That was encouraging. And then this morning, he actually chirped! Several times! And then, much to my relief, he ate.

Phew. What a couple of days he’s had. We have a big dog who barks at whatever he sees moving across his view from the window next to the cage. We have a cat who has curiously peered into his new home. He must think the world has gone crazy.

But everything is going to be alright. He felt a little of that this morning when he felt good enough to eat. As the days go on and he realizes more that he is safe, that he can trust us to do him no harm, I’m sure he will enjoy exploring his new world even more. He’ll get to know us and we’ll get to know him.

That reminds me of a verse:  “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” 1 Corinthians 13:12.

We’re glad to have him as a part of our family. Hopefully soon, he’ll feel the same way.

Thankful today for:

544. new pets

545. a feeling of security

546. potential

547. challenges–not because I like them, but because they cause me to grow

548. friends just dropping by

 

Parrots Are People Too

Aug11

We’ve been Sun Conure parrot sitting this weekend, test driving a friend’s bird to see if we might become her new family. She has beautiful bright orange, red, yellow and green plumage. She makes cute, quiet clucking sounds and other pleasant noises. That is until something disturbs her. Then an extremely loud and shrill squawk comes out of that pretty face. The disturbance might be that she’s hungry, or someone just walked into the room. Or out of the room. Or a car just drove by on the street outside. Who knows. But that sound, especially right next to our ears, is making us all a little crazy.

So, much as we’d like to help out our friend, we will be returning Baby (whom we’re calling Mango while she’s with us) at the end of the weekend.

But it’s not just for the squawking: we have a cat who has had to be sequestered nearly the whole time Mango’s been here because the bird squawks loudly when she’s not with us, and if she’s free range in the house, the cat is a definite hazard. And then she poops wherever she wants. That gets old pretty quickly. Does she have a sweet personality? She can. Would the cat like to find out how she tastes? Probably. Is she a little high-maintenance? Yes, if you want her to be quieter.

I’m thinking a cat-free home is the one for her.

Amazingly, the dog learned very quickly not to react when she flies overhead.

But, this experience has shown us that we would like to pursue getting a different kind of bird. Maybe one that is happy in its cage as well as out among us. And who has only pleasant things to say.

That reminds me of a verse:

“It is better to live in a corner of a roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman” (Proverbs 21:9).

A pleasant personality makes for a happier home than does all the glamour in the world. Mango is beautiful to look at, but don’t give her what she wants and she lets you know. Loudly.

Sound like anyone you know?

Thankful today for:

532. beauty

533. my sweet, obedient dog

534. fast forward

535. good friends moving back home

536. modern medicine

537. youth leaders

538. our location

539. the ability to help

540. red nail polish

541. time to read

542. sleep

543. articulate people

 

Unwashed Faces

Aug7

A friend shared a story about arriving home one day to his small daughter’s exuberant welcome. Problem was, she was covered in spaghetti sauce, having just been fed by her mom. Being still in his work clothes, my friend held off his daughter’s embrace so as not to soil his nice clothes. In his sharing of this story, as I remember it, my friend felt regret that he hadn’t just as joyfully embraced his dirty daughter as God so joyfully embraces us, His dirty children.

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Joyce Meyer points out the order in which those things happen: draw near to God, then cleanse your hands and purify your hearts.

We can’t become clean on our own. Nothing but the blood of Jesus can accomplish that. If we wait until we’re clean to draw near to God, instead of trusting in Him to do the cleansing, we will never come to Him.

I think about my friend’s story whenever I try to keep my kids’ dirty hands away from my clean clothes. Oh, that I would accept them, dirt and all, the way God accepts me.

Thankful today for:

519. puzzles

520. creative smoothies

521. partnership

522. laughter

523. praise music

524. cleanliness

525. acceptance

526. weekly trash pick up

527. thunderstorms

528. my kids still liking to be with me

529. my Macbook Pro

530. experts

From Sea to Shining Sea

Aug4

August 4th finds us back at home for our second full day. We actually arrived on the 2nd, but there was too much to do to find time to sit and write. I haven’t had too much time yet to gather my thoughts, either, but here are a few things:

We traveled 9,197 miles, used 417 gallons of gas, visited with about 48 family members and friends, saw license plates from 49 states (missed only Alaska, which Nathan swore he saw, but we couldn’t verify on the speeding car that passed us by), ate at about 27 restaurants (it would have been more if not for picnic lunches packed at the benevolence of our friends), traveled through 24 states and slept in 19 different beds, only 6 of which were in hotels.

We saw elk, bison, buffalo, deer, a little coyote, a chipmunk, squirrels, various birds, dogs and cats. Those were the live ones. The roadkill was way too numerous to count.

We have one ding in our windshield from a rock thrown up by a passing semi in Idaho (I think), a tweak to our front bumper from a blown tire on another semi (in one of the Carolinas), and road dust that all has something to say about our journey.

Only a few small things were left behind: a small container of shampoo, a hairband that went with Morgan’s wedding outfit, a beach towel purchased in Huntington Beach, a comb, a bracelet, one charging cable and a library book that is required reading for Justin. That one will be mailed by the hotel in Georgia. Not too bad for living out of a suitcase for 31 days.

We experienced a terrific rainstorm in Wyoming, blazing heat in Arizona and chilly drizzle in Washington that cleared for the big wedding day. Our temperatures ranged from the low 50s in Washington to 113 through the California desert. But the van’s a/c stayed reliably in the mid-70s.

For being stuck together 24/7 for 31 days, the kids did remarkably well. They had their moments, of course, and I was thankful for the DVD player, but they’re all still friends at the end of the day.

As are David and I, as evidenced by the kisses from sea to shining sea:

Ormond Beach, Fla.

Newport Beach, Calif.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thankful today for:

510. a reliable washer and dryer

511. winners who give glory to God

512. smoothies

513. dvr

514. choices

515. memories

516. a nice camera

517. a happy family

518. a healthy trip

I Can See It From Here

Aug2

Day 31 of our journey finds us in Savannah, Georgia. Not quite home, but we can see it from here. The Florida license plates have become more prominent, but we were blessed to finally find the elusive New Hampshire plate at a rest stop in North Carolina. We’re hoping someone from Alaska is on their way to Florida right now and heading south on I95.

For the last 5 days, we’ve been driving, sleeping, getting up and driving again. Thus the lack of posts. We did have a chance to visit with ministry partners we’ve never met, but who welcomed us into their home. We can now call them friends. We also saw two families we haven’t hugged in years and met kids we’ve never met before. Morgan wasn’t so thrilled with the household of boys, but she loved the girls who painted her nails a cool purple and white pattern.

Image

A cool rock formation in Wyoming, on the road to Mt. Rushmore

As we head into Florida today, we will swing by the beach in Jacksonville and wade in the Atlantic so that we can say we have actually gone from “sea to shining sea.” I’m sure it will take me a while to process this whole month. Suffice it to say right now that we are still talking to each other through goofy road games, a near miss by a blown-out semi’s tire, collecting 49 states so far in the license plate game, unnumbered dvds all while traveling thousands upon thousands of miles of roadway across and around America.

Here’s my summation on day 31 with home still several hundred miles away: Wow.

And here’s the big question that will surely remain on our minds for a lifetime: Is it pop or is it soda?

Thankful today for:

498. travel mercies

499. friendly people

500. health throughout the journey

501. new friends

502. old friends

503. memories

504. creativity–both God’s and man’s

505. the promise of home

506. a few more weeks until school starts

507. clean accommodations

508. a rear entertainment system

509. Pandora radio