FIRST day of school

This first day of school was so very different than ... well than all preceding (as i have been a student up to this point) and also from what i expected!!!

I woke up at 6:50 to my alarm and thought, 'yay, its my first day teaching'. Then I closed my eyes for just a few minutes and it was 7:20.... *paaaaaanic* ! I frantically pulled Pippen from his kennel and ushered him outside. Upon the click of the door I realized that I had neglected to unlock the door! (so while barefoot and gradually becoming very wet(it was raining) i wondered who invented 'egress' and whether anyone had shot them yet) I padded over across icky mulch and pushed open one of our basement windows ( um, ok so i knew it would be open because I locked myself out on monday, apparently i'm NOT one of those experience learners afterall) I attempted to go in feet first this time and found that head first trully is a better way to try and mount the washing machine. I was doing ok until i tried to pull pippen in through with me... wet scared dog plus precarious position equals frustration. I let him wander around outside as I jumped down off the washer. *kersplush* hmm my feet are 'wetter'. ah yes, our basement was 'flooding' at this point prayers were happening such as "are you kidding me Lord?!" I ran upstairs and said is quite a bit of love, "PIPPEN GET IN HERE NOW" then padded down the dog with local towel while ringing husband and running back downstairs. 'Hello? (says Chris)' "I overslept, i locked myself out and the basement is flooding!" poor Chris. He asks me to locate the leak and describe it- (ahem, why was he not panicing- this was a good panic situation!) "its coming in from where the wall meets the floor", "OK dont worry that shouldnt cause any problem it will drain through our sump" yada yada click.

Poor Pippen is completely neglected at this point as i sprint up the stairs and decide whether or not i will shower in my remaining 20 minutes. "Lord! REAlly?! orientation has been crazy, i'm teaching jr high and high schoolers, i want to be prepared! Lord I know i'm not asking reverently or in awe- but you better bring me some peace!"

and then it was very very clear.

" Do you want to do this in your strength or mine?"





So now i sit writing this, weeping as i let it all sort of sink in, I remember yet again that He is very good at being soveriegn, very good at being GOD!

I'm so thankful He is patient and I'm so thankful that I am His!

preparation

tonight i'm nursing a strained neck and trying to figure out how to create an 18 week drama course. I'm learning alot. I didn't know a strained muscle could teach me so much about james- counting it joy is difficult and i think that may show i'm getting a little too used to comfort. preparing for something completely out of my range is pretty humbling and i'm scared i'll land on my face. i'm learning about trust too.

trusting someone who cannot be ignorant, cannot be wrong, cannot be compromised sounds so logical... yet its hard to pay out trust in the medium of control...

i'm excited that God has begun another part of my journey- i feel new lessons coming.

moving in

well i only have a minute because i need to decide what we are eating for dinner. but we have moved in and are working our way through the house- cleaning and refurbishing. its really exciting and i'm so glad chris and i have been blessed by God to do this!

Here is a bit of a montage from moving out of the apartment to moving in last thursday to sanding and refinishing the floors!
{'hmm?' catching a last bite before packing the truck}
kitchen under attack!

...
isnt it the most beautiful inanimate thing you have ever seen? other than mountains ... :)

pippen, packing, playtime

we got our first dog about a month and a half ago now- i named him pippen because he is small, bouncy and harry like a hobbit... but i think i should have named him Einstein. The hair on his head is curly and tousled between his floppy ears so the hair definitely makes me think of the genious, the rest is pure irony- the dog is the stupidest creature i have ever seen. He runs into walls and curbs and chases his tale. He can't find food we throw on the ground- one time i put one of his toys under a towel infront of him and he couldn't seem to understand his toys disapearance. suffice to say- he keeps us busy, even when he isn't finding things to eat that make him vomit...

i started packing last tuesday, that would be july 14th. unfortunately buying a house is God's way of showing you the sinful habits most deeply woven into your being; and those which you like to keep hidden. My patience is , well recooperating somewhere around last thursday, and my house is a maze of tools, cardboard and doggie toys. At least i have an excuse not to mop. Hopefully we will close early *early* next week (prayers appreciated)! God has brought to mind in a truly personal way HIS truth, 'all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose' (Rom 8:28) not that i can really compare my inconvenience with the trials of the early church.. Still God is teaching me His goodness and His timing and (probably) that this idea i have that control exists in this life is amusing to Him. :)

i am excited, even though summer is begining its final trek through this year, i hope to get some perrenials in the ground before fall frost- whether it was my mother's love of nature (" thats a black capped chicadee") or my time in chicago (where the concrete has no end) or likely a merging of the two- I am so excited to play out in nature, in my yard, to create a garden and a place of peaceful time with the Lord.

:)

new york as the misunderstood state

i miss ny a lot. Having lived in the midwest for almost 4 years i get a lot of people who will spit, "eugh, i hate NY." usually followed by my asking, "have you ever been there?" I am always amazed by how many say, 'once'- really you can hate an entire place after one visit- one visit which is usually to the empire state building and staten island?!

so anyway- i love ny, i grew up on long island and can still remember the initiation of summer being that constant distant humm of cicadas. i remember collecting leaves every autumn- and have yet to find comparable collers in the midwest. i remember going to jones beach to boogie board and the taste of the deeply salty water.

i like that ny has the appalachian mountains running right through it, and that the roads near my second home never ran straight. i love the smell of the woods and the rocky water falls and that people might take a while to crack, but then they are loyal, friends for life.

blogging again

i find myself barefoot most of the time and will always have a deep love and pride for NY. that is as far and deep as my blog name goes. when i first started blogging i would create names based on passionate ideas i had at the time, but honestly- i just want this site to be a simple way to keep in touch. someone told me i should journal more and was faithful to his recommendation for a while- its a fare cure for anxiety. but having neglected my last blog for some months ... years maybe, i thought i would start again.

welcome*