Senior (citizen) Moments / Precious Moments

Have you ever noticed that once you have someone over to your home - or you've been invited to someone else's home.....how much better you feel you know each other afterwards?! I love that!

We finally(!) had a lovely (much older than us) couple over yesterday that we've enjoyed getting to know over the years (yes... years!) at church. We thoroughly enjoyed the time & simple dinner & dessert (nothing fancy) we shared together.

Even our children engaged with them in conversation, shared their interests, introduced them to our pets, entertained them & demonstrated how we bowl, play golf/tennis, etc. in our living room - via the Wii ... They seemed fascinated by that :)

This couple: passionately love & serve The LORD, have been married almost 58 yrs., absolutely adore each other & have endured much together - yet they're full of life & remain young at heart .... & seem to possess a generous(!) supply of something I crave (wisdom!). Every now & then, in conversation, they shared precious nuggets of wisdom that I collected & hope somehow remain preserved in my heart for just when I need them most. Tho' our time together flew by all too quickly, I was pleasantly satisfied (blessed!) when they left .... feeling more like family.

Am I clinging to stuff - or is stuff clinging to me?

Seems I spend waaay too much time/energy moving stuff! I'm in major "simplify mode" - which requires getting rid of stuff! - Yet it's not easy to part w/ so much of it!

I have no real hobbies....but still manage to collect (accumulate!) stuff.

I crave the feeling/sense of accomplishment (success?) I get when I have a place for everything and everything is in its place, yet rarely attain it. I get so close....but even that requires so much effort (time & energy!).

A lot of my stuff is sentimental/heirloom in nature - wrapped in memories that seem to "obligate" me to keep it.

So much of my stuff causes me to feel safe, satisfied & significant - yet I'm convinced these are the very same features of the most effective traps ..... and that comfort and convenience are the lures.

If I can just rid myself of a lot of stuff - I'll have so much more.... time, space, money, energy (freedom?).

All of this causes me to consider ..... Are success & freedom synonyms or antonyms?

Some of my favorite words...

I'm a list person. Wrote this list a while back. Was stunned as it "took shape"....

Grace
Eternal
Gift
Salvation
Justified
Sanctified
Sealed
Saved
Free
All
Whosoever
Faith/Faithful/Faithfulness
Hope (not necessarily a favorite….but noteworthy nonetheless)
Assurance
Believe
Righteousness
New Covenant
Forgiveness
Mercy
Love
Joy
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Gentleness
Self Control
Relationship(s)
Compassion
Peace

22nd Anniversary in 22 Words

Surprise from hubby: picnic, prayer, blue sky, park, pond, frogs , boquet of "fire", toast, lobster, alone together, watched clouds change/move, romantic.

Hello out there....

Some motivation for finally making the big leap to "the blog scene" stems from the following:

1.) One of my best friends (my brother!) - is moving to Africa & phone calls won't be so frequent.

2.) My husband's family recently got together for the first time in 22yrs - & some of us hardly knew each other.

3.) It seems God's Word and His Works (creation!) both whisper and shout relationship! - and that modern technology encourages us to be much more independent than we were ever intended to be. Soooo ... this blog is, in part, an effort to use technology instead to maintain (rather than discourage!) my personal relationships. I'll attempt to wrap words around what I'm learning, doing, seeing, enjoying and enduring - and provide some illustrations too by photo-journaling. If a picture paints a thousand words....this will save you - and me(!) a lot of time :)