Friends

So I've been thinking a lot lately about friendship. How would I define the word "friend". I believe friends are the unique reflections of the extravagant brilliance of God. Each friend in my life reflects a different angle of my Creator and draws me to a deeper level of humble gratitude and adoration.

Ya, that's where I am right now--pretty much in awe of the concept of friendship to the point where I have no more words.

...and let me tell ya, the lack of words communicates volumes! :)

One of those days...

You know, today was just one of those days. Crazy thing is I know tomorrow will be one of those days as well...and now that I think about it, last week was a conglomeration of 5 of "those days" stacked together. All I can say is--good thing Friday is a comin'!

So here's a question for all my faithful readers out there (ya, all two of you ;). What do you do to maintain balance and health in the crazy moments of life? Or, as more eloquently asked by Nancy Ortberg (of whom I'm a huge fan), how do you lead a rhythm of life that renews the life of God in you?

Ahh yes, I find myself coming back to that question time and time again. Take a stab at it and let me know what you think!

Not what I would have chosen...but not too shabby!

So my eyes snapped open at 4:30 this morning and I was awake. I mean wide awake. Now as anyone who knows me well can testify--I am CLEARLY not a morning person. (Well, unless I'm in Hawaii that is, then that lovely time change works on my behalf.) So I argued with myself for a good half an hour over the idea that SURELY I would fall asleep in no time. Ya, not so much. At 5 to 5 I decided that I could either argue with myself for the next hour and a half (a lose-lose battle to be sure), or I could head to the gym. As I walked out of my house it was dark out, and Orion was in full display in all it's glory. Orion Rocks--he's my favorite! So though I wasn't too stoked about being awake this hour, the stars were amazing! Not too shabby.

Have I ever mentioned that a leather ball, a wooden floor, a forgiving rim, and a killer ipod playlist can work wonders on me, body and soul? For some reason shooting hoops can quiet the many thoughts and questions whirling around in my head and returns a slice of simplicity back to life. Ahh, so nice! And let me tell ya--I was having an on day, making more than I missed from the corner 3's--not too shabby!

I walked out of the gym to a gorgeous sunrise--a site that honestly I don't get to see all that often (so surprising). Wow, stars on my entrance, sunrise on my exit. Again, not too shabby.

I'd rather not bore ya to tears, so I'll spare you the details of my work day. Needless to say, the day was loong and I truly believe that I've worked hard enough for it to at LEAST be Thursday. And yes, since I was up so stinkin' early, I do confess to drinking a Rockstar for breakfast. Not great I know.......ok, ya that one is a bit of a stretch.

This evening I took Hobbes for a walk, and was blessed to see a gorgeous sunset. Wow--stars, sunrise and sunset all in one day, when does that happen for Lynn Morrow? And I seemed to notice more flowers and beautiful scenery around me on that walk than I have in the many times past. God's creation was singin' all over! And now, I'm going to grab a book and go to bed early and I may not even make it through a single chapter which would be fine by me!

So all in all, I definitely would not have planned my day to turn out as it did, and I won't be volunteering to wake up at 4:30 tomorrow.


STILL, though I didn't choose it, I have to say my day was...
...not too shabby!

Ahhh, there's a little Alias in me!

I'm settled in for the night and currently making my way through Alias season 3. Have I mentioned lately that I think there's a little CIA operative in me? Yes there has always been and probably always will be a little piece of me that likes to live vicariously through the life of Sydney Bristow. Perhaps it's the cool disguises and funky wigs. Maybe it's the fact that she can pretty much take out anyone who dares oppose her. Whatever it is-I like to think there's a tiny bit of Sydney Bristow in me. I mean heck, I did take a kickboxing class you know! ;)

Community

Ahhh community. Is it a buzzword, an idealistic concept, does it even exist? I've been mulling over the issue of community for quite some time now. Recently I've been smacked in the face with the realization that when it comes to community (yes it does exist), I am totally, utterly, and completely spoiled. I fully admit it, and I am extremely humbled by this revelation!

It's only in this most recent stage of my journey that my eyes have been opened to the fact that when it comes to the world as a whole, true community is downright rare! In all honesty, I've found my heart breaking repeatedly over this truth.

So here are just a few of the many questions I've been mulling over these last few days. Feel free to try one on for size. What are the key elements of true community? Are there times that I've taken this gift of community for granted? How do I share some of my community "wealth" with others? What do I give to my community, or how have I been uniquely designed to add to my community? What does God have in mind when He thinks of the concept of community? And lastly, how many times can I say the word "community" in one blog post? :)

Finally, to the many of you in MY community who have so profoundly blessed my life--THANK YOU! You have cared for me, fed me, nursed me back to health, made me laugh, provided a safe place to cry, challenged me to grow, encouraged me to dream, celebrated my joys, sat with me in my sorrows, given me the freedom to be me, encouraged my walk with the Lord, inspired me to give more--and ultimately have forever changed me! In other words, you have made me rich indeed! Thank You!

Question to ponder

I heard a very profound question the other day--what have you always wanted to do, but never had the courage to attempt? Hmmmm, still thinking about that one.

playwithmePlayWithMePLEASEPLAYWITHME!

Any good Saturday warrants a glorious nap time, and this Saturday was no exception. I curled up with my dog Hobbes and quickly fell into a much needed snooze. Now apparently Hobbes wasn't nearly as sleep deprived as I was, so it wasn't too long before he was again up and at 'em. He left me alone for a little while...that was nice. But as any of you who have ever met Hobbes know, though he couldn't get much cuter he sure does like attention and he LOVES to play! It wasn't too long until he started to visit--just an occasional nudge here, and poke of the nose there. Then he progressed to phase 2 where his paw would gently pat my hand as if to say, "Here I am, would you like to play?" As he advanced to the more direct stage 3 and the pile of collected toys started growing on my chest, my mind drifted back to my childhood...

I was the youngest of 2 girls in my family and much like Hobbes I LOVED to play! I remember when my sister Sharon had friends over I would serve them food, tell them jokes, and basically do anything I could to be a part of the fun (and I mean anything....ya, sorry about that Sis). Another time Sharon was trying to beat her own record for hula hooping. She was well over 1000 with mom and dad excitedly counting each rotation of the hoop. Ya, did you catch the dynamics there--that no one was paying attention to me? Just keep that in mind. Well, I quickly figured out a brilliant scheme that would put an end to this monotonous routine. I filled up a bucket of water, snuck up on Sharon, and as you can guess the hoola hooping soon came to a screeching halt. Now in my mind, the event was over, the hula hooping had ceased--problem solved and let the playing begin! Ya, I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed back then, and I hadn't taken the time to consider her emotional willingness to play after the aforementioned attack. Hey, I just wanted someone to play with me...

...with that thought my mind snapped back to the present. And as Hobbes gentle whines started getting slightly more desperate, I did what any decent dog owner would do--stretched, pried my eyelids open, smiled, and got up and played with my pup.

To Blog or Not To Blog...

...that is the question I've been asking myself a lot over the past few days/weeks/months. What is the purpose of blogging--is it just to better hear my own thoughts, to share my own thoughts with others, or to hear others share their thoughts with me? I'm guessing it's a little bit of all three, but perhaps most heavily leaning on the first--to be able to capture just a few of the many thoughts whirling around in my head. Honestly I'm not really writing this to share my thoughts with the masses. That being said, I will always love to hear the thoughts of any friend who occasionally wanders by and stops for a visit. I tried to think of a snappy blog title--but hey, these are just my musings-they may be funny, they may be serious, and on some days they may even be a little random or ridiculous. Yep, I don't really have an end goal or a destination in mind for this blog, I'm just along for the ride.

So with that, let the journey begin!