Friday, May 21, 2010

Thankful for the Storm

A couple of nights ago we had a wicked wind storm. Of course living in a rural area with many large trees it was inevitable...our power went out. Great.

Being the techie that I am I don't do well without my gadgets. What am I supposed to do now? And it didn't take long for my daughter, Tessa, to start experiencing Facebook withdrawl. "What am I supposed to do all night!" she complained. Wow, are we really that bad?

Soon Tony brought out the propane lantern and put it on the kitchen table. Even though it wasn't quite dark yet we gravitated towards it. Jenna got out her text books, announced that this was perfect for her because she needed to study for a class anyways. Tony grabbed some Outdoor Life magazines that he hadn't had a chance to read yet and Tessa decided that she would knit with me.

We had some hot water in the carafe so the girls made some tea and I made a snack. We started telling stories about how it would have been in the 'olden' days and pretty soon we were just laughing and talking and catching up. Before we knew it three hours had gone by.

Sometime during that evening, Tessa, in all her wisdom said, "Actually this is a lot of fun. We should do this more often."

Hopefully we won't need God to send us another storm to remember that.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Be Still

The older I get the more I realize that I really don't like wasting time. And if you're over 40 maybe you're feeling this way too? It's not that I don't love my leisure time, I really do, I just often feel that I need to be doing at least two things at once, even when I'm relaxing. And I'm not sure why that is, all I know is that it's getting worse.

When I drive I listen to an audiobook.
When I clean my house the TV is always on.
When I watch TV I knit.
When I talk on the phone I empty my dishwasher.
When I have to wait I read a book.

I'm not sure why this has been on my mind... maybe because I've noticed that I become anxious when I am forced to do nothing. Am I afraid to be alone with my own thoughts? I'm not sure.

I know what the Bible will tell me, they are words that I have heard and sung my whole life...
"Be still and know that I am God..."

But can I take them to heart?