Reflections and Responses

My husband is a pretty outstanding person. John is very capable, dependable and kind. One of the first things that attracted me to him when I was 15 years old was how responsible he was - his strong sense of moral responsiblity and dependability really stretched way beyond his years. He was then and still is exceptionally punctual, and he's always stayed true to his word. If he says he's going to meet you somewhere at 7 with your coffee, he will be there at 6:45 with your coffee plus a few different sweeteners to make sure you have what you want. A prime example of this is the amazing yet true fact that though he has worked since he was 15 years old, he had NEVER been late to work (not even a single time, not even to his part-time jobs as a teen) until he was 24 years old (and that was just once and because of his alarm clock). He is exceptionally responsible and conscientious, and he ALWAYS chooses to do the right thing. John's strong sense of responsibility and commitment...

I can't believe we are moving a month from tomorrow. I'm so very excited about our house, but it doesn't quite seem real yet. Maybe that's because we don't close on the home until April 8. I'm sure that when I feel the key in my hand it will feel real, but I'm hoping it hits me sooner than that. In some ways, a month sounds like forever away. I just want to live in the house. But in other ways, I'm glad we have some time because there's a lot of physical and mental preparation that needs to take place. We have decisions to make before moving, such as picking out new appliances for the house, deciding what furniture we're bringing from our storage units (meaning our parents' basements!), and arranging to have a few things fixed in the new house. Plus, of course, packing. I will be in Texas for an entire week too, so that's one less week I have to pack and prepare. It's neat how God prepares me for moves. I moved home for my last semest...

Tiredness is a funny thing. Sometimes, it is completely physical - if you don't sleep long enough or if you engage in vigorous physical activity, you feel sleepy and worn out. On the other hand, if you are maxing out your mental energy, you feel tired. If you are spending tons of time worrying about something or trying to make something happen on your own, exhaustion sets in quickly and energy is zapped. That kind of exhaustion is tricky because sometimes you aren't even aware that you've been striving or that you're tired. Suddenly, in the midst of your efforts to do whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, you demonstrate effects of exhaustion: you become irritable, physically tense, and you lose your ability to think rationally. That place is an EASY place for us to behave badly... Tiredness has become a good spiritual checkpoint for me. When I realize that I'm sleepy, irritable, physically tense, or frustrated, I ask myself why. Sometimes I am genuinely...

Today, I am unsettled and kind of sad. The word that best describes how I am feeling is homesick. What am I homesick for? I live with my husband just 45 minutes from my family & the town I grew up in, so it can't be the familiarity or "home" that I grew up in...I think I'm homesick for a couple of other things. I'm homesick for the ease of childhood. I have a birthday on Monday, and it honestly amazes me that I'm an adult woman, working full-time, married, and probably about to own a house. Each of those things is awesome - a tremendous blessing, but each also comes with responsibility. Decisions to be made. Relationships to maintain. Resources to allocate. I know that the responsibilities of life on Earth will only increase as I get older, but thankfully, so will my wisdom and maturity. I think I'm also homesick for Heaven. That may sound odd, but what I mean is, I'm homesick for the place where words don't matter, bodies don't break, peop...