Biding My Time

From August of '07:

To bide one's time is to wait patiently for an opportunity, so says Webster. The title of my blog came to me this morning as I thought through my upcoming year and the hint of wonderful new opportunities awaiting me.

I am not sure how consistently patient I have been, but for the past 16 years I have been biding my time. Please don't misunderstand me...I have enjoyed and loved being right where I was meant to be! The past decade and a half have been a whole series of opportunities! But starting this September I will have reached a serious milestone. I will not have a child in my home during the school day. I won't need to formulate, and then re-formulate lesson plans and field trips. I won't have to drag them with me on errands. I will have literally hours during the day that are kid-less.

I have to admit I have a strange mix of elation and apprehension at the opportunities that are just around the corner.

Do I get a job to earn some extra cash? Do I up my volunteer work at the church, and if so, in which capacity? How about the kids schools? The community? Do I actually become a conscientious housekeeper? Do I expand my culinary "efforts"? Do I start watching HGTV? Do I join the gym? Do I start to blog?

Thankfully, I am not at this milestone alone. I am reassured by Scripture that God has created me with a specific plan in mind and already has good works set out for me to do for His Glory. I commit here and now to patiently wait for Him to show me what those new opportunities are and to lean on Him for the accomplishment of them. I also have a loving and faithful husband who is looking forward to this new phase of life and encouraging me to embrace it. And I have some fun friends who are just a speed-dial or a blog away who share like interests and issues.

Reality is that this is just one milestone in my life. There are lots more ahead of me, which means lots of future opportunities opening up. Very exciting stuff!

Thanks for walking with me as I continue to bide my time.

This was written almost three years ago. Since that time lots of new opportunities have been set before me, big and small, but none of those opportunities have prevented me from blogging on a fairly regular basis...until now.

In January of this year, a couple friends and I launched a new ministry, for women within our church walls and out, that involves a weekly blog and a daily devotional (www.giventhetime.wordpress.com). Needless to say, my computer time has greatly increased and I find that I need to take a sabbatical from my personal blog.

I am so thankful for the almost 3 years of writing experience Biding My Time has given me. I have been forced to be creative when I didn't feel particularly so, I have learned to edit, and I have improved my writing skills. And it has been a lot of fun! But I am also excited that I am smack dab in the middle of one of those mysterious opportunities that I knew God had prepared for me way back then in '07. What a ride!!

Ride out the storm

In the Colorado mountains on a camping trip as a teenager, a storm blew in quickly and without warning before my family even had the chance to finish setting up camp. There was no alternative but for us to huddle up under the best cover we could find and wait it out. There is a sense of power in a storm like that...it renders you completely helpless for that period of time. And it is somewhat terrifying.

I am not sure what made me remember that incident so many years ago. I don't think I am facing anything monumental at the moment...and maybe therein lies my answer...nothing at the moment. There are so many storms that blow into our lives unexpectedly and the sheer force of the storm threatens to paralyze us from moving forward, or even backward for that matter. I guess the key is to ride out the storm to the best of our ability so that eventually we can go about moving forward once again.

Editing note: I don't mean to sound fatalistic...more along the lines of realistic. What I didn't say above, and I should, is that even as I wait out any storm that may cross my path, I am not doing it alone or without hope. There isn't a storm out there that separates me from the love and care of the Lord. But there are times and seasons that we are held in place and stationary until the point comes we are able to move forward. All the while, even as we ride out the storm, God shelters us in His loving care.

Signs of the Times

Signs he isn't my baby boy any more:

*He is designing a tattoo for himself. He knows he can't get one while we are still "footing the bill", which puts it into the later-rather-than-sooner time frame for him, but he is 18 and about to launch into the big world of college and he wants a tat. So he is planning it all out. A cross, with a verse, over the span of his nice broad shoulders. (I would do it all for him in black sharpie, and for free. But he isn't amused for some reason.)

*He is worried about paying back his future college loans.(Join the club!)

*He cleaned and washed his car without us telling him to. (And found a pair of jeans he thought he had lost. Bonus!)

Just feels like signs of the times, that the day is growing closer when he will be away much more than he is with us. So I am preparing my heart...or trying to anyways. I don't want to hold him back, but I don't want to let go too much either. Kind of feeling my way through these emotions that this new stage of life is bringing to me.

Bad News for Dublin

Hidey has a better memory than he does.

I read somewhere that the University of Michigan has tested the memories of dogs and cats and came to the conclusion that a dogs memory extends to about 5 minutes and a cat's memory will potentially last as long as 16 hours. This exceeds even that of monkeys and orangutans.

What really concerns me, though, is that Hidey might have a better memory than me as well. I swore it wouldn't happen to me, and certainly not before I turned 40, but I am having the hardest time lately remembering little details lately, like names of people I am friends with and things I went in the other room for. A friend was real comforting to me when she nodded knowingly and said the exact same thing happened to her when she turned 40, and it does get better...and then she wished me a Merry Christmas. Haha! Real funny!

Spring Teaser

I guess Dublin prefers snow to limp wet grass.

Anyways. I am loving this "warm" weather even though I know it is just a teaser...Spring hasn't really sprung for us yet. But this week the snow will melt away and I won't wear a coat outside (though I will be chilly) and I will enjoy it while I have it. And when snow blankets the ground once again (probably on Easter if the last four years are any indication) I will try not to whine!

{RANDOM QUESTION: Why do teenage boys like to give each other welts and proudly show off the welts they have been given? I have 5 teenage boys in my basement currently doing just that...they are playing Sting Ping (painful ping pong to say the least). I don't get it!}

Back to Spring-like weather...yesterday I went for a bike ride with Big D through a beautiful park in our area. It was my second official ride and I am very much liking it! But we did get home and immediately order the cushy/tight pants. (: Hopefully they will be in before our next ride. And so now the kids can avert their eyes and dramatically scream in horror when I walk out in my biking clothes just like they do when Big D comes out as Spandex Man.

Hope you are enjoying your lovely weather wherever you might be! Blessings on your day!

I am ALIVE!

But barely! Slammed more like it. And unfortunately, the hobbies are what get nudged out during seasons like this. At my new dr.'s office this morning I had to fill out paperwork as a new patient; the normal, run-of-the-mill questions about medical history and drinking habits, and then came a new question I wasn't expecting. She was curious to know what hobbies I enjoy.

Pause.

Pause.

Do you have to actually DO a hobby for it to BE a hobby?

And I tried to skip the question, but I couldn't, because it clearly stated at the top of the page to NOT leave any blanks and I am a TOTAL rule follower.

So I put down I enjoy reading and writing. Then I giggled. (Yes, out loud!) Then I committed to come home and post on my blog.

On the upside, I really do enjoy reading and writing, AND, I do believe I have at long last found a Dr. here in my neighborhood who doesn't annoy me!

A Role Reversal

Puppy dog brought me a gift today...a half chewed up dead mouse. And he was so offended when I wasn't appreciative.

Meanwhile, kitty is living like a queen in the garage on her comfy throne. She has appropriated a sleepingbag that was waiting to be taken to the dry cleaners.

I think they are confused.

Sniff, Sniff! They looked so cute! This was a first date ever for both of them. They looked a little nervous too. It was a group date officially and they were headed to the Winterfest dance at school. And M lucked out, she didn't want flowers. (Church friend, cute, athletic, AND low maintenance...he did good!)

So note how times have changed in fashion for boys on their first date...back in the day the date would have shown up in a lt. blue oxford with a yellow paisley tie, khaki tan pants (pleated of course), navy blue sports coat, and brown leather ColeHaans. The preppy look. Now it is black on top, black on bottom, no pleats, maybe a tie with color but maybe not, and black tie-up dress shoes. The mafia look.

Updates

*Super Bowl Party was great. Plus I had 4 lbs. of taco meat left over to freeze for a later date. AND my house was clean. Such a win/win/ win kind of situation!

*www.giventhetime.wordpress.com survived the trial period...we are continuing on for now.

*yesterday was a glorious snow day:

My Big-Game-on-Sunday Party

Have you heard about the whole thing about not speaking the words "Sup_r _owl" on the radio and various other advertisments? Now, why on earth wouldn't the $uper8owl People, whoever they are, want additional free advertising for their Souper Bole Sunday, my simple mind asks? But rather then risk getting hauled in to who knows where by the authorities, I will be very cautious to not say the wrong thing in this blog.

I am very excited to be hostessing my very own festivities for the Very-Large-Event-happening-on-Sunday. Of course the big question is food...I have been researching suggested menu's for the Huge-Container-Activity.

The funniest menu I found for Soup-in-a-Bowl was labelled a "guy menu"..."chips and dip and lots of it." Seriously.

And then there are the obvious menu's by Martha and by Rachael. But considering the guest list for my Extraordinary-Basin-Gathering, I don't think the preparation time will be worth it. Not that they aren't worth the effort, but I know these people and they wouldn't want me to spend that much time on the food.

I think I have settled on Tex-Mex. So what if the Cowboys or the Texans aren't participating in the Huge-Activity-On-Sunday?! Does it matter that Mexico doesn't have a football team represented?! And really, you just can't go wrong with Tex-Mex, right?

Go Colts!

Things I am learning from my 4th grader...

*Polar bears do not eat penguins...apparently, they live in two different places. Why didn't I know this important fact before?!
*Leggings are always fashion-forward...of course, she has the legs for them and I don't.
*Hot chocolate cures almost everything that is wrong...I can buy that!

Memories that make you say "Ouch"

I was just catching up on some blogs and happened upon Snoodling's story about her beautiful daughter. After saying "ouch" out loud to the computer screen on Snoodlings behalf, I had a flash back.

A few months back a thoughtful couple in the church left a bouquet of flowers on "our" seats. (Note: I have always been a back-of-the-auditorium-sitter, but this is the small price I pay being married to my man...same front row seat every Saturday night and Sunday morning.) Anyways, back to my story. So I took a second to read the handwritten note pinned to it before I put it in water...it says, and I quote, "for Pastor (and 1/2 too)".

So I am sure they were simply wanting to include me, and maybe just went blank on my name at the last minute but still felt they had to write something, and they probably refer to each other as "the other half" in loving sorts of ways and so that was all they could think of. But it still made me feel... like saying "ouch"!

It Really Works!

Have you ever just wanted to give some inanimate object a swift kick out of frustration? But you didn't because that would be a bad example for the kids? But intuitively you just knew things would improve with a swift kick?

Next time, give it a try! It really works, and not just to make you feel better. My washer wouldn't move on to the spin cycle, leaving me with a full load of water and towels...and 4 baskets of loads yet to be washed. I was...irritated. I kicked the washer on my way out of the laundry room and like magic it began to spin like crazy.

So now I feel validated that my intuition was leading me right all along!

The Smell of Popcorn...

...has made its way back to my room where I am working away on the computer. Smells can take me places in a snap!

Popcorn has such a yummy, hot, buttery smell. It reminds me of watching a chick-flick with CoffeeGal last year and tossing in a few peanut m&m's just to sweeten it up a bit. Fun times!

And it has reminded me of other distinctive smells from my memory...like the exotic sweetness of the orange trees in Israel as I disembarked off the plane onto the tarmac about 22 years ago with my parents. That was a LONG time ago and SUCH an adventure!

And then there are nasty smells. I remember the stench of burning trash on the foothills of Haiti 11 years ago. Praying for them. It was already so hard for them to live day to day and now this...

Discount Discoveries

Conveniently located catty-corner to our church is an upscale-resale shop. So after Bible study (Beth Moore, the book of Daniel), I just happened to mention to a friend of mine that I might happen to run in that cute little shop on my way home. And in the ways these things go, she just happened to end up there too! (Just so you won't worry that I have lost my sense of humor, we did get a good laugh at the irony of us shopping after a study highlighting the materialism of Babylon.)

Discovery #1: My friend is the discount shopper of the year! She is really, really good. A darling $2 cropped jacket, name brand.

Discovery #2: I, on the other hand, do not have an eye for racks and racks of discount clothing. I just don't find things.

Discovery #3: My friend is generous with her talents. She found me this complete namebrand outfit for $14:



D just rolled his eyes when I suggested we might end up there every week after Bible study at this rate. But he has to love the pricetags!

What to do, what to do...

So here it is Friday morning, and I just can't decide what to do.



Dublin always needs a little love...



I guess the counters need to be wiped down...



I wonder what is going on in the world today. I should check the internet news...



I could blog...

So What Now?

During last month's craziness with my extended hospital stay, surgery, and recovery, I decided to deliberately not ask God "why" but to instead ask "so what now".

One of the answers to that question has been "the project" that has been percolating in the brain of several like-minded friends at my church for a few months. It just so happened that the right timing for "the project" to finally take some recognizable shape was exactly when I had been stripped away of all extra responsibilities, was mostly stuck in my house recovering, and at a place of heightened spiritual listening. Interesting!

Anyways, here it is in its baby form, and it is a work in progress but we are slowly getting closer to what it needs to be.

http://giventhetime.wordpress.com/

It is meant to be a combination effort...a way to reach out to women who are seeking and asking spiritual questions (the blog), a way to reach out to women who don't have a whole lot of time to study (daily devotional), and a way to reach women who want to jump into the Bible deeply yet can't make it to a classroom (online Precepts class).

If there is anyone in your life who you think would benefit from this type of effort, feel free to send them our blogs way.

Scratch and Sniff

That is Dublin these days. Not to be gross or anything. He is just a dog after all...
THAT JUST GOT HIS CAST OFF!



Did you ever have a cast on your arm or leg? I did a couple of times and I vividly remember poking all sorts of sticks and pencils up the edge of the cast (in total disregard to Dr. order's otherwise) because I could not stand the itching. So poor Dublin all these weeks has probably been about to DIE of itchy leg and now he is free to scratch and sniff that poor scrawny leg to his hearts content. He is so happy.

And so are we. We just gave him a bath and he smells so much better!

Projects make me Procrastinate

I have a HUGE project going on right now...HUGE, I tell you! And it is a group project and it is ministry and exciting.

So, apparently, that is all the more reason to pull every box of pictures out from under my bed dating back to 1970. And also work through the box of trophies that has been moved (but never unpacked) to at least 4 other houses before this one.

I think projects make me procrastinate.

My Dog's New Year Resolutions

It is Jan. 5th.

Usually by this point I am so over the whole fresh start, New Years resolution thing and am busy just living life. But for some reason it keeps coming back up in my mind. Like there is unfinished business of some sort that I can't quite put my finger on.

So I am sitting by the fire, pondering these deep thoughts when my eye catches sight of Dublin laying there sublimely happy and asleep. And off my mind goes on this little rabbit trail through the forest...

What would Dublin's resolutions be for this year?

*To not pee his pants anymore when he gets scared.
(Author's note: Actually his kennel got pee'd in...he doesn't really wear pants because he is a dog after all. It only happened once but he was pretty embarrassed after the fact and I KNOW he doesn't want to repeat it. Right Dublin?!)
*To not break his leg this year.
(Author's note: Again, it only happened once so far, but it was a real pain...)
*To not growl at J when she pulls on the fur between his toes because his fuzzy paws are just so darn adorable.
(Author's note: It is hard to be adorable apparently!)
*To gain weight.
(Whatever!)

I find it is so much more comfortable to contemplate new beginnings and fresh starts for my dog then for myself. I feel better now and can get on with living my day.

Maybe the next time I feel contemplative I will work on Hidey Cat's resolutions for the year...

In Pursuit of Kindness

My "fruit" for this year of 2010 is...drum roll please... kindness.

It doesn't scare the be-geebers out of me like the year I prayed for patience.

It doesn't intimidate me like love did this last year.

But I am very curious!

How, really, is kindness different then love? Or is it?!

How is Biblical kindness different from the kindness our world promotes? Or is it!?

Am I going to spend my year compelled to be randomly kind to all I meet? That could get exhausting for an introvert like myself.

And who is the "person" in Scripture that best personifies kindness? Pretty sure it won't be Jonah...and I already used Jesus for love in 2009 so I probably should use someone else.

Very curious indeed! I will let you know how my pursuit of kindness goes. (Yes, yes I know it is a fruit of the Spirit so in essence I don't need to pursue it since it is ready and available to me through the Spirit living within me, and yet, for all that, pursuit still feels to me like the right word to use!)

Looking Ahead...

at the year before me, and I can hardly process that it is the year 2010!

In this year I will have a son leave for college.

Another son will get his driver's license.

One daughter will enter her highschool years.

My youngest daugher will officially enter her pre-teens.

My husband and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage.

And God knows what else?!

I am excited for the changes, with a touch of nervousness.

2010 should be an adventure!