Over load

I've decidedly bitten off more than I can chew. I seem to have signed up for too much stuff to do outside of the holidays this Christmas! Right now I'm looking through what I've got and what I can easily delay. Here's my list:

1. play piano for Children's choir - must do
2. make cookies - highly recommended to do
3. participate in Living Nativity - must do
4. attend Sunday School play - must do
5. attend School Christmas play - must do
6. 3 family Christmases - must do
7. update my resume - can wait
8. refresher courses for work - needs to be done by Dec. 25th, thankfully on line
9. attend orientation days for work - must do
10. write - must do in order to sleep, which I haven't been sleeping well b/c I haven't been writing
11. apply for scholarships - can wait
12. apply for college - can wait
13. wrap presents - must do
14. plan snowshoeing/sledding for Young Adult group - can wait
15. attend flute ensemble at Blue Frog - really want to go, but guess I could skip it
16. keep up correspondence with people about my book - should do
17. work out - must do
18. organize ornaments - needs to be done by end of holidays
19. organize winter outer wear - can wait
20. practice piano for upcoming times to play at church in Jan/Feb - can wait

I feel better now that I know what needs to be done and what can wait. It's hard to put things off, since I want to do them all, but if I do, I won't have time for the kids!

Mansions in Heaven

As our world seems to be rushing head long into the Apocalypse, I've been dreaming of Heaven and the New Earth. It's very exciting to think of eternity and all that I've always wanted to do, people I want to meet, conversations I want to have with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and just being in God's presence physically. My imagination runs wild, although I know it doesn't compare to the wonderful and amazing things God has planned for me.

There is one black mark marring my perfect picture of life on the New Earth. The city. The city that is 1400 or so miles square! Paved with gold, adorned with every known jewel, and inhabited by every person who has embraced the one and only Truth (ok, that part will be nice). I do not like cities, nice places to visit, but not for me to live. I also hate ostentatiousness (my new word). I don't like gaudy or things that are gilded. I want green grass, lots of trees, gardens, and lots of animals around where I live. Give me an old Victorian home with lots of amazing wood work, secret passageways, hidden reading nooks, and a massive libraries and a nice kitchen. My ideal and the way the Holy City seems to be portrayed in the Bible don't seem to line up.

For a while that freaked me out. Where would I live? Would I be forced to live in the city in a house walled with jewels and gold? Would I be cut off from the nature I so love, and clean air? For a while I no longer wanted to go to Heaven, but I certainly didn't want to go to Hell!

Then, wandering into my brain from a source outside myself (read Holy Spirit speaking to me), saying my pastor likes to use. If we both thought the same, did the same things, agreed on everything, liked the same things, one of us would be redundant and unnecessary.

Here I sit, in a house and life I never wanted, asked for, or thought I would enjoy. How much better God knows me than I know myself. I can look back through the years and observe God's faithfulness in my life to care for me, give me the things I need, and even things just for the shear enjoyment of them. Obviously He loves me greatly and wants to make me happy. Knowing me as well as He does, and I know the number of times He has been right in knowing exactly what I wanted compared to what I thought I wanted, I need to have faith. He has been faithful and consistent the whole time I've known Him, what makes me think He'll change once I get to Heaven.

For the most part I rest contented in the thought that whatever place He has prepared for me will be exactly what I want and need. But, I have had numerous chats with Him about what I'd like...

Boys and Girls

Last year Elizabeth and Samuel were playing a version of hide and seek. We have a little tiger with 2 wands. You can hide the tiger and find him using the wands, which light up and beep as you get closer. Elizabeth walks into the room where I happened to be. "Shhh, Mommy, we're trying to find a baby tiger. He's lost."

Then Samuel walks in. His pose is different, as is his intent. He tip toes around, sighting along his wand, which is held up to his eye. One eye closed, he says, "Mommy, I'm hunting a tiger." And immediately spotting the tiger, he proceeds to shoot it.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, is hysterical. "Stop him, Mommy. He's shooting the baby tiger!"

Satisfied the tiger is finally dead, Samuel turns to her, "It was a big mean tiger and I shot him dead."

Needless to say the game ended there, with Samuel taking his trophy off to be stuffed and Elizabeth wailing over the death of the baby tiger.