LINGER LooooooooooooNG!

As we begin the season of hustle-bustle and hurry-scurry, I have another guest post that very eloquently points us to what is important. A much needed reminder beautifully written by an extraordinary and beautiful (inside and out) young woman, Anne Marie.  She is a friend of my daughter's who is graciously and generously living her life loving and learning how to linger in East Asia.  Her wisdom at such a tender age is inspiring:

lingering

According to Miriam Webster, this is what it means to linger:
       1. To be slow in parting or in quitting something
       2. a: to remain alive although gradually dying
           b: to remain existent although often waning in strength
       3. To be slow to act
       4. To move slowly

I want to be a person who lingers. 

I want to linger over a hot cup of coffee before the noise of the day begins, instead of immediately feeling the need to check email.

I want to linger in the embrace of my husband's spontaneous hug at the kitchen sink instead of nudging him away so I can wash the next dish.

I want to linger in meditation on God's word instead of being satisfied to just check it off my list for the day.

I want to linger at bath time with Maddox and not care about what time it is or how much water is being splashed on the floor.   

I want to linger in silence with a friend instead of feeling the need to interject with some answer or piece of advice that, let's be honest, probably isn't that great anyway.

I want to linger in my weakness.

I want to linger in the hard lesson God is teaching me instead of just wishing for the end result. 

I know I'm gonna wake up one day when Maddox is grown and wish that I could do bath time with him again or sing him to sleep, so why do I try and rush through those things now? Why do I feel like I have to live life in a hurry from one thing to the next.  I really have absolutely nothing to be in a hurry for.     

If every moment is beautifully ordained by God, which I whole-heartedly believe is true, then why wouldn't we want to linger in them?   And if we never linger, doesn't that mean we are missing out on what that specific moment has to offer?  And if we keep missing the gifts that come in the moments, then aren't we missing out on the fullness of life that God intended for us? 

I want so badly to go slow and savor minutes, hours, days, and the season God has me in.  I want to let my child stay in the bath too long just because he loves it. I want to experience the slow and sometimes agonizing process of refinement that comes with learning the hard lesson, because that's how God shapes us and changes hearts.  I want to know the extent of my weaknesses so I can better understand the extent of God's strength and grace - if I never linger in my weakness I will never have to depend on the Lord.  I want to sit in the tough emotions, because there's a time for every one of them under Heaven.   I want to hug Chris for a long time because I have no idea what tomorrow holds and if there will even be another hug. 

Lord, teach me how to linger.

Thanks, Anne Marie ~ for such a good word.  May we truly linnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnger according to God's economy and not our own....especially at this upcoming, hectic season.

A Post that Never LEAVES Me....

I've been busy and out-of-town, but I wanted to pop in and breathe some life into "MM & SC." 

So, how 'bout a breath of fresh autumnal air from a young talented woman.

This is a guest post from Laura, a friend of my daughters ~ she's darlin,' beautiful inside and out, as well as a gifted writer.

I read this post exactly a year ago.  It is one of those that resonates to the depths of your souls and continues to reverberate with echoes of the words, the message, and the heart coming to mind every so often.

Enjoy!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

blanks walls and leaves on the ground

I love writing letters on leaves. Every year around this time, I used pick a lovely fall leaf, and write a note on it. Being a lover of mail and the written word, it just seemed like fun. In the fall, one of my dear friends from childhood would always open an envelope to find a colorful leaf with sharpie scribbles on it. I'm not sure exactly why I did it, but I knew this long-time friend would understand.


The funny thing about my love for fall leaves is the irony in it. I hate change. I cry almost every time I cut my hair. My clothes tear to shreds or go out of style before I quit wearing them - note, I still own and wear a pair of pants from the seventh grade at 23 - I own 3 colors of nail polish: hot pinky - orange, nude/lightish pink and clear. Why? Because I fake the change - I rotate 3 shades in and out so it "looks" like I change. I have the same car I drove at fifteen and sincerely don't want a knew one. And in my old house, the wall over my bed stayed blank for two years because I was looking for the perfect thing to hang over it and if I drilled holes in the wall, I couldn't change it if I didn't like it.


I have a new blank wall. Come see. Help me drill holes. And best example of all? I cannot let go of people. Memories. Change. I am the roots, not the leaves.


You may think I'm crazy, and, yes, my hatred is a bit extreme, but who really loves change - transience - temporary?


The leaves that I wrote letters on, that crunch under your feet as you walk to work, that act as decor on your mantles, that make for hours of fun when in piles - those leaves are proof that we can't escape change, but that it can still be a beautiful thing. Has death ever looked so lovely? Change is part of this world, and the desire for something eternal is just another reason to believe we weren't made for this.

Pictures from Morgue File (not original to Laura's post)

SHINE ON.....

...... Shine on harvest moon ~ up in the sky.

Tonite will be a full moon ~ the harvest moon (the best known of all the moons).

It is the moon of song, poetry, and folklore.  The herald of autumn and ripening fields.
Before farmers had mechanical pickers and electric lights, they relied on the light of the harvest moon t bring in their crops.  Back then, most of the harvesting was done by hand.  With everything ripening at nearly the same time, there was too much work to be done in the fields to stop at sundown.  A bright full moon allowed farmers to work long into the night to reap the crops at peak harvest time.  Many farmers said the moonlight gave them the equivalents of an extra day or two. (Charles Seabrook, Wild Georgia)

In East Asia, where my daughter is studying, it is a big deal.  There, the harvest moon is celebrated with the Mid-Autumn Festival.  Traditionally on this day, family members and friends will gather to admire the bright moon and eat moon cakes under the moon together.  Some other traditions include carrying brightly lit lanterns and collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family member.

   "When the moon is full, mankind is one!"   ~  Chinese proverb 

When you look up at the full moon tonite (and any other full moon nite), pray for the world that God so loves ~ that "one mankind" ~ that they would KNOW the ONE TRUE GOD ~ the Creator, the Glory, the BRIGHT and redeeming LIGHT.

.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  II Corinthians 4:6

For us who have already had the immense and amazing privilege and honor of having His light shine in our hearts......SHINE for the harvest.  Pray for the harvest.  Pray for the laborers of the harvest...for the harvest is great, and the laborers are few.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a HARVEST if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

SHINE ON....for the harvest!!!

Perfect Equation

Illustration by Katherine Brown (circa 1982)

 

God is sovereign.

God is good.

Sovereign + good = Rest

No need to strive.

No need to worry.

Rest.

Rest in His goodness.

Rest in His sovereignty.

Ahhhhhhh.....

This is in conjunction with:  "Five Minute Friday"