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I did.

As a kid, I’d sometimes stare at the ceiling at night and think about things. (Who am I kidding? I still do that!) But, back then I’d think about stuff like time-travel and aliens and ghosts.

One night I thought about old ladies walking around. At the mall, in town, at an airport, or wherever. And I thought about how hard it was for them to get around. Then I thought it would be great for someone to make a way for them to move on sidewalks without walking. Then I thought about escalators and how they move people up and down stairs without walking… Then I thought that someone could lay the escalator flat and level, and people could stand on it to move.

Years later I bought a plane ticket to somewhere. On the way to my gate, I saw little old ladies standing still while moving. On sidewalks. Made out of flattened escalators.

Dang it.

Have you ever listened to laughter? Like REALLY listened to laughter? Have you ever noticed how strange it sounds? Doesn’t it sound like something halfway between choking and crying? Have you ever listened to it outside of context? Have you ever thought it strange?

A few posts back, Heidi left this question:

What does God stir in your heart when you look outside your window?

At this moment, as I look out my living room window, I see dark. I see shadows. I’m not sure if God stirs anything in my heart, but sometimes when I look out the window at night I think about what’s happening in my life… What’s happening tomorrow… What I need to do… Right now I need to get the power point slides ready for this weekend’s retreat - and I really should practice the piano again before I go to bed, because a disappointing piano lesson awaits me in the morning. What stirs in my heart? Worry that I don’t have enough time. That I clearly haven’t managed it well this week.

Tomorrow, when the sun is up, I will see bright colors. I will see that even the vines and ivy growing outside will change color with the season. What stirs in my heart then? I’m amazed that our surroundings can be so beautiful. I’m amazed that there are portions of the world that turn into a foliage rainbow for just a few weeks every year.

In a few months, I’ll probably see a bright blinding white outside. We live on the ground level, so I can tell if it’s snowing at night by looking at the ceiling. If it is glowing, the exterior lights are reflecting off of newly fallen snow and up through the curtains. It’s magical. What stirs then? Curiosity. I want to get up and see how much snow has fallen. How big the flakes are. How hard the silent snow is coming down. I’ll probably get up and crack the curtains.

Our first year here, I constantly thought of home when I looked outside the window. The trees were unfamiliar. The seasons were unfamiliar. This place was unfamiliar. Now, when I look out I see familiar trees and seasons… I see home.

What stirs in your heart when you look out your window?

Hi. I’m in New Hampshire. I’m sure that matters little to most of you. But, it matters much to me! I’m with 50 other women from our seminary. We’re on a retreat. (No boys allowed!) We are made up of 4 different generations. We are from at least 6 different countries. And definitely span 4 different continents. And I get to serve us through music this weekend. Can you imagine trying to lead 6 cultures in worship? I’m pulling songs and hymns from all over the place to provide these women with relevant moments to sing praises to our God.

Back to the whole point of this post. I’ll get to take a deep breath on Sunday afternoon. Relax. Hang out. Do nothing. I’m looking forward to this. I might read a book.  I might write some music (although probably not - with my fingers tender at the tips.) I might (definitely) take a nap. I might watch a movie. I might watch tv. I might call a friend. I might talk to Drew… But, no matter what I do to relax, I’m really looking forward to having nothing else to do!

What do you do when you have nothing else to do?

1. I don’t do… wiping my face with a towel. There was a time in my life when I did this, but I’ve since learned that this causes BAD BAD things to happen to my nose ring.
2. I don’t do… waking up when my alarm clock tells me to, which is a recent and puzzling development for me.
3. I don’t do… driving the speed limit. (hanging my head in shame)
4. I don’t do… late night movies. I’m getting old, y’all.
5. I don’t do… balancing the checkbook. I married a mathematician, plus I always used the total on the ATM receipt to tell me how much remained in the bank.

So. What are some of your “Don’t Dos?”

from holly @ crownlaiddown.blogspot.com

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Many of you know about her through my.com.
Many of you read her blog.
Many of you know about her abortions.

But, not many know about her nineteenth year of life…

Tam is publicly sharing a portion of her story that left me speechless. I don’t want you to miss it. There are people in our midst who have endured the unthinkable. Lived nightmares. Stared death in the face. Tam is one of them.

I don’t send y’all to other blogs often, but this is one that you won’t want to miss… You won’t believe what you are reading.

Go here for part 1.

Forget catching up on what I’ve written in the past few days. Forget checking everybody’s else’s comments. Forget about writing your next blog post.

Go. Read.

Many of our international students take on an American name when they move here. Most of those who have children while here will give their babies Americanized names to coincide with their ethnic name. Oftentimes, they pick a name from the Bible.

Now we have lots of international students named Paul and Stephen and Esther.

One of my South Korean friends stopped by my office recently. She’s pregnant. Due on Halloween. We were going through baby names. She mentioned some possibilities: Esther, Ruth, Eunice, etc. She asked why I was laughing (sorry) so I had to explain that those names were “older.” Meant for an older generation of Americans. The motherly & grandmotherly generations. “What about Grace?” she said, explaining that her expected daughter’s Korean name means grace.

I think we settled on that. I sure hope we did!

If I had to pick a new name for myself - based on a Biblical character, I’d go with Anna.

What about you?

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“Drew answered the phone: Sis-in-law had cancer.”

In seven words, describe one of the saddest days of your life.

photo by yoppy