Crazy week.

Started off with a good reminder in the form of my Sunday school kids' memory verse, "What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?" What is there to fear when He is in control of all - even the winds, the sea, the animals, and the rocks obey Him. Shouldn't we be just as quick with our obedience?

Monday was the funeral for Bro. Purks. Many tears and much laughter. He was a servant of God who was funny, challenging, and will be sorely missed. I spent a couple days in MD with a friend, and we had a good time catching up, talking, and shopping. As an aside, the public library in Frederick, MD is the coolest library I have ever been to. I want to move to Frederick just so I can visit their library.

Back to work on Thursday and then an impromptu sleepover with my niece and nephew. We had hot dogs for supper, went out for ice cream, painted our toenails (not my nephew, obviously), played games, watched Winnie-the-Pooh, read stacks of books, and eventually they crashed in their sleeping bags on my floor. Grandma made waffles for breakfast, and then we worked on some 'crafts.'

Starbucks started making their Pumpkin Spice this week, which made me so very happy. In the winter, I feel like a kid in the candy store with all the incredible holiday flavors. Unfortunately, I missed all the Christmas flavors last year and will again this year, so I'm taking advantage of the beautiful Pumpkin Spice, even if I have to have it iced because it's still so hot out. :)

Today is another major push to get things cleaned out. I can't even believe how much we have already gone through and how much there is left to be done. We are now at the 5 week countdown, but there are some significant (time-consuming) events between now and then - another trip for my parents to take, Gospel meetings at LVBC, and a bunch of appointments to make and people to meet. I am caught between wanting the days to slow down so I can savor each moment, and wanting the days to hurry by so we can get to Africa already.

After getting rid of all my craft supplies a couple weeks ago, I felt the urge to do "something." So I pulled out what I had, and made a couple small things.

Not much... sewing a small zippered bag with three interior pockets, lining a cool box that I found (still don't know what to put in it), and getting a new journal ready.

From inside the journal:

"Triumph, O my faith!
All things are Christ's, and Christ is God's, and God, Christ, and all things are thine.
Time is His, and in it I have my numbered years;
The air is His, and in it I breathe;
The world, and on it I dwell;
Its fullness, and I am fed;
Grace is His, and in it I stand;
Faith, and by it I overcome the world;
Tribulations are from Him, and in them I glory;
Perfection is His, and towards it I press;
Death is His, and by it I arrive home;
Heaven is His, and there is my mansion;
Eternity is His, and there is my treasure and glory."
-James Meikle, Solitude Sweetened


From the front cover:

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." -Marcel Proust

That is one of my all-time favorite quotes. Even though it seems like I am always skipping off to new landscapes, it really is true that changing your perspective on the current situation can be just as revealing as changing your location in life.