Count down...

If you've followed me in life, you know that I'm preparing to take a trip out of the U.S. Today a friend asked me "how many more days till you leave...?" and I was speechless...I've not been counting. 


Life has been busier than normal - busier than even my "normal" September - which is pretty busy, as months go. I keep thinking that October will be a place to slow down, but it doesn't seem that way either. Oh well.


So I have a messy house. My husband and I have eaten out more than we have eaten at home (I've only cooked one time this week) and there is a variety of luggage, unpacked shopping bags, and generally STUFF scattered all over my table, my floor, my couches....  ugh. If I have a spare moment, I'm more interested in going outside in the sunshine than staying indoors and "house-blessing" things here. (I desire a clean house though...and I know that there are dust bunnies....or rather dust doggies...under those pieces of luggage all over the floor!!). It will get done. 


I've also got HOMEWORK to do; things to write as assignments, thank-you's to write to family and friends that are praying for me, and packing to do. SIGH. A LOT to do!


But I'm not counting days, and I think I'll keep my calendar set to September to keep me from doing it. 


Earlier today, I met with some newer best-buddies that help keep me accountable and see God in all things. We pray for our husbands, their jobs (they all work together) and the nuances of the industry. It's a place I can be REALLY real, warts and all. Love those ladies!!


Yesterday, I got to talk with a long-time friend, who happens to be a counselor, and we talked about how God is moving and growing us in new ways. How He grows dreams in us, and how we can choose to be used - or not - in those dreams. SO good to get wise counsel from her. 


I also got to SKYPE with a great friend who I've only spent face time with a few times in my life, but we are avid online friends - YAY God for technology!! We have shared a lot of similarities in life, and God's given us similar, complimentary, passions to serve Him with. When no one else "gets it", she does! :) 


oh, goodness....where was I going with this...???   : P   (i'm being real with you now too!!)


OH YEAH - the point was this: Sometimes we can get SO caught up in the countdown, that we miss the chance to live that day to the fullest in His will. We were talking about "saying good-bye well" - whether our kids were moving across town, enlisting in the military, or moving around the world - we can get so enslaved to the process of what I call "the last times" (this will be the last time we sit at church together, this will be our last time at Taco Bell, this was the last time we'll get to watch this movie together...etc) that we MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY THE MOMENT WITH OUR LOVED ONES. 


So, maybe this is why I won't count days. I want to live in the moment (even if it's a scatterbrained, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, moment) and not in the "last times". I want to see Him at work, in me and around me, and be able to share the enthusiasm of the work that God's doing "there". I don't want any tears. (for some reason I'm hearing a chorus of "Don't cry for me, Argentina..." LOL). 


SO, prayers appreciated: for rest when I need rest, sleep when it's time to sleep, and periods of productivity in between!! For health of my family, "here, near, and far away" and for no surprises while I'm gone. For me to continue to walk in faith, and trust Him to fill me with a message of LIFE, and LIGHT, and HOPE to this place I'm going. For me to see with His eyes, hear with His ears, and be His hands and feet to the world. 


thanks friends...
i'll probably take a little time off for the month of October...but promise to come back with LOTS of photos, and more than a few blog posts...