Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Dancing To The End


"A person's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?"   ... Proverbs 20:24   (... or how can we then expect others to understand our way?)

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While I grew up, my family moved from town to town less than every three years.

Surprisingly, I'm not in therapy because of that. :)

But. Every three years, I do get the itch to move to a different house (you noticed, right?) and because Tom's veins flow with gypsy blood, it's a cinch to pull him along with me until we can only think of moving again. 

Fortunately we both survived This Year's Itch To Buy a Different House. Whew.

And what I noticed for the zillionth time? Once we decided to stay here, made up our minds, the redecorating ideas have been rushing through my head like Niagara Falls, the change coming probably because of this:

 "A double-minded (wo)man is unstable in all her ways."   ... James 1:8

How good to be stable again and oh, these many ideas! Yet because I'm no longer a young, decorating whirling dervish, I've had to stop my head from becoming overwhelmed. Instead, I must picture myself like an old-fashioned gold miner chip, chip, chipping away with a pick axe inside his secret cave at the sparkling veins upon the walls.

Chip, chip, chip.

And it's working, for currently I have no desire to leave our tiny home. One idea which further endeared Hobbit Cottage to me by perhaps 30 percent? This area which I've already shown you (I apologize for the redundancy):



I switch on the lamp first thing each dark morning, then turn it off last thing at night before I climb our creaky stairs. And enjoy this tiny corner all day.

And oh my--the fireplace. I'm thinking it added 50 percent more love for this Hobbit Cottage:



Now, of course there is such a thing as being content with what one presently owns and maybe I should be. You know, just sit around, leaving things as they are, practically nail them to the floor forever and feel grateful that we have anything.

Yet I also believe that God nudges me to sharpen and hone my creativity. To not go all lackadaisical and que sera sera about making improvements around here, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the world to end before the big move into my heavenly mansion, above.

Uh-no, I can't do that. Not even if 50 people tell me I should.

God loves it, I believe, when we keep ourselves inspired in the areas of our giftings, even when those areas don't appear all that spiritual. He has reasons for each good passion He placed within us, reasons for every lesson, everything He does in and through us. Reasons we may not understand until we reach that aforementioned Heaven House.

So what remains? Balance. Determination. And walking our paths faithfully even when we don't know why we're on them or where they're leading. But moving forward, our hand in His as in a dance, simply because that's how an all-knowing God is leading.

He's that close. He may be invisible and others may question our direction, might even assume we're dancing alone, but with God so near, we'll end up at the place He intended just for us, eventually, cheeks flushed red with joy. And that will be what matters.









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“Behind every specific call, whether it is to teach or preach or write or encourage or comfort, there is a deeper call that gives shape to the first: the call to give ourselves away - the call to die.” 
― Michael CardThe Walk: The Life-changing Journey of Two Friends



Know Who has called you.
Know what He has called you to do.
Life becomes smoother with that level of clarity.


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Speaking of projects, here's my latest one as of this morning--after three years I finally painted the back of our entertainment center:




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Did you snatch the Kindle book, Out In The Country, while it was free? I did and am enjoying reading it. Much.


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Be still my Nicole-Curtis-loving heart! Just this morning I discovered all these extra episodes of Rehab Addict that I can watch online. Happy, happy sigh.


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Free Kindle books:


Roughing It

Simpler: Declutter Your Life...

On a Quest for Christ






3 comments:

  1. Now that the back of the entertainment center has been painted .. it makes the most lovely floating wall. Beautiful.

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  2. Debra, I sure do appreciate your optimistic spirit! Your post is like good medicine when I need a little nudge. Thanks! BTW,it's amazing how painting the back of your entertainment center changed the whole look of your dining area.

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  3. I love everything that you have done in your home, so cozy and inviting !

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