So What Are Your Pictures?

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom's instruction.  A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." ... Proverbs 29:18, James 1:8

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Too. Much. Vacation.

Eegads. Never again will I--while at home--take more than two days off.  Never. Again.

See, early on Christmas morning good ol' Tom slipped, hit the bathtub and tweaked one of his ribs. For hours he did that moan-and-hiss sound with each step or while reaching for the water I brought him.

I asked,"Hey. Do you want me to drive you down to that new whatchamacallit Care Place?" It's one of those offices you go to if you're somewhere in between requiring a band-aid and needing your arm sewn back on (but not if you're glimpsing any white tunnel and angels).

He said, no.

A couple hours more of moan-hissing and I told him,"Well, when Naomi gets here, you'll have to knock-off the noises. They'll scare her and she'll insist upon driving you to the hospital. You're her favorite, you know."

Oh, the compassion, right?  シ  But hey. People who've been married 40 years can get away with stuff like that.

So he pulled himself together, Naomi and Justin came over for Christmas presents and I didn't hear him moan even once.

Until they left, of course.

Anyway. Since we never go anywhere, Tom had oodles of vacation time saved, the use-it-or-lose-it-by-December-31st kind, so oh my. He stayed home the next five days, mostly in his recliner watching tv while listening to a movie on his computer while also surfing the Net.

He does that on his best, totally healed days off, too. Go trying to speak to him and that makes 4 things he's trying to do at once--and he nearly shorts-out his forehead.

😉

Anyway, ol' Debra spent much time upstairs watching Castle reruns, eating chocolate (so much chocolate), reading, avoiding ironing and chasing naughty cats. But long about Day 4, I came downstairs, stood in front of Mr. NoAmountOfAudioInputIsTooMuch and voiced a
proclamation--

 "Retirement is not going to look like this."

He smiled. Said something like, "But I enjoy this."

Yet with the memories of those 20 months he was laid-off (enjoying Life from his recliner) still a bit too fresh, I told him, "Okay, yeah. A couple hours each day, maybe. But in retirement we're gonna have goals! Schedules. We'll read, exercise and take walks and little rides around town because, as I said," pointing to the computer and tv, "Retirement is not going to look like this."

He nodded because hey, he knows. Right is right and too much of a good thing soon becomes a bad thing.

Why share my silly story on this New Year's Eve? Because I believe it's important to--

Know what we want
Know what we do not want
Always be decisive
Have specific goals
Be led by Grace

--and to get a clear picture. Of what?  The kind of life God means for us to be living at this present time. 

Me? In 2019? These are the type of pictures I'm holding onto lately--

These are examples of my head's pictures. My goals for 2019. I'm kind-of burnt-out on lists: this time I'm choosing pictures of how I'd like to be living.

What's next? Asking God how best to get there. No impatient leaping allowed, nope, just making one-step-at-a-time journeys. God's steps--I want those, for they're always wise (even if at first, yeah, I wonder).

In 2019 may I go (and dream and plan) only where He wants me, for there is no better, more helpful place, this side or the other one nearer retirement.

It will all be good as long as I follow Him there, anywhere, that He leads.

P.S. Days later Tom is fine. As we were thinking, most likely his rib was out of place and now it's worked itself back.



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And something I'm planning to do more faithfully in this blog? 

I'd like to share movies with you which I can recommend at least 90%, for oh my--lately, Tom and I are having a more difficult time than ever finding interesting, morally-decent films.

But will I just complain and rant and whine? No, anyone can do that (and anyone generally does). 

Instead, I'll share what we do find (and enjoy) with you.

And to start you off, here's one--

Searching.

Just a smattering of 'language' but otherwise, a very good suspense film which kept us guessing till the very end.

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