Life, more and less

Our friend Lindsey leaves for the Philippines today. We met her at Pre-Field Orientation (PFO) in June. We're praying that she's the same blessing as an elementary teacher as she's been to me already.

On our end, we continue to pare down (5 bags and a skateboard, picked up by the Big Blue Truck today), sell (Craigslist), and give away (Freecycle) our possessions. It's messy work.

Here's a before and after of painting the upcoming bathroom. Friends, kids, and W continue to sand drywall in hopes of painting the basement this weekend. W hopes to put up cabinets soon so I can shift things from our kitchen. The next householders need the space!

In process:
our bath-to-be

What a difference
white paint makes!

Timothy, Melissa, and Kinsey (2) move in this week with the rest of their stuff. A bunch is here: I'm typing and grading Singapore papers on their kitchen table. Their boxes are crammed under the pool table (in our former dining room), sit atop the hutch in the family room, and fill K's future bedroom. The guest room is getting emptier: we moved its futon to the LR; and their bed goes in tonight.

Almost healed: one of the
bruises from having the
futon crash on me last week

I'm almost at a stand-still mentally. Visual as I am, I break into a cold sweat with the clutter of W's 3'X3' book scanner on the window-seat, our Le Corbusier chaise halfway under T's wrought-iron-base table, and my suffering houseplants ... and that's just the kitchen nook, never mind the rest of the house.

Lord have mercy. Thanks for prayers and smiles, hugs, and other comfort from those of you who say, "We've been there. We know. It's not forever." Love ya!

In the middle of this process, I've had a lot of time to reflect on God's character and His priorities:

Just big enough: a little
fridge @$75 from CL

• How God sees us. Each of us is valued and beloved by him. Those unlike us are JUST AS PRECIOUS to Him as we are. He wants a relationship with every one of us, drawing us close through the cross and the power of His resurrection.
• How each person is made. Parts of us reflect God's nature, beauty, and goodness. Other parts need renewal and refinement by God's grace ... day by day, month by month, year by year.
• How we interact with others. Some of us fear closeness and proximity. Some welcome it. Still others don't care one way or another: they easily flow in and out relationships.
• How we perceive and process the world. I'm mostly visual so what I see impacts my inner life. As a musician, I process life by walking over to play piano in the LR corner. I'm missing my well-tuned, beautifully-maintained Bosendorfer already.

  

  Mama-mia! What a mess.

• How we process change and transition. W and I are moving ahead differently. With a full-time job, he teaches during the day. He is occupied with the build-out in the evening, racking up concrete accomplishments at both places. My full-time job - including lots of breaks - includes ordering my surroundings. My biggest accomplishment seems to be learning patience, waiting for others to finish so I can move forward with tasks.
• Routines are important. Our kids came over for lunch Sunday. The normal felt good, pulling out pots, plates, and food, cooking, and eating together. When life is in turmoil, it helps to sit back, relax, and enjoy the familiar.
• God's ways are wonderful, complex, and never quite expected. Reading scripture and praying for others keeps my mind on Him. I'm really happy and anticipating the future, most of the time. (Yeah, I write to process the rest. Writing and making music keeps me semi-sane.)

Read more:

*Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8 NLT

*You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts
in you. Isaiah 26:3 NLT

*Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” NLT

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-2 ESV

*At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Philippians 2:10 NLT

Moravian Prayer: Father, help us, protect us, and comfort us. As we walk through your world serving your will we know that you are there with us. Thank you for always being by our side. We are humbled by your mighty word. Amen.

After a week off

I'm back after nearly a week off. Missed you!

The fourposter bed, gone.
We start to sort the room. Ugh.

"Keep the main areas - kitchen, bathroom, and LR - clean, and the whole house looks clean," says my mom.

"Sorry, Mom. The house is a mess." There are boxes in the entry and piles of coats on the sofa. Our life is being sifted. The donation truck comes by again Tuesday, so that will help. Our bedroom turns into a sorting station.

Meanwhile, the basement is becoming the shell of a real home. The Sheetrock has its first and second mud coats. It takes a long time to dry with cement block walls. By week's end, W puts in heaters and a fan, which speeds up the drying process.

Our monstrous fabulous 4' Victorian lamp,
for sale.

• Monday: coffee tables and end tables get picked up. I fill 4 huge garbage bags of clothing out of my closet. I start grading Singapore papers.
• Tuesday: My coaching partner visits at the house; we have so much to talk about, we skip the coaching. My dad brings our nephew Lemuel to NU. I hand over a few sets of towels and bed linens. Yay. More stuff gone. The Blue Truck picks up the donation clothing. Also,  CL-ers buy two sets of stacking chairs. 
• I decide to quit FB for the week. I'm definitely addicted to my computer and have to stay in touch with buyers, but I can live without social media, can't I?
• Wednesday: We wake on a mattress on the floor; someone bought our bed Tuesday and T delivered it to them. It's weird lying 2' lower than our night tables.

  

  A table-full of
  redundant crystal

• Thursday: Breakfast with credentialed female ministers @ 3rd Place Commons. Freecyclers take picture frames and magazines. For supper, W and I cycle the 5 miles I walked earlier to Lake Forest Park. Feels good to be moving.
• In the evening, I crash down the front concrete stairs when the futon frame the guys carry outside topples onto me. Blue bruises. No breaks. Relieved
• Friday: Washer and dryer are delivered. 
• We meet with missionaries from Surabaya, Indonesia, John and Korie Taylor. They are very encouraging and answer a lot of questions about where we're headed. THANKS, you two! Looking forward to working together.
• W recycles a huge TV that's clogged up the guest room for years. He empties the back door closet to create a mini-bedroom (5'X9') for Miss K, our granddaughter.

  

  Goodbye, old friends

• I take the last china teacups, crystal, and Hummels out of the hutch and a young couple hauls it away. The dishes sit in forlorn heaps on the kitchen table. By next week, we'll have to clear away everything so a two-year-old explorer can't break it. Our kids move in next Saturday.
• Saturday: T brings more of their stuff over. Freecyclers claim our bedding, picture frames, and magazines. W sells a disability ramp and I sell a closet full of art supplies. My office looks like a dump: everything from the upstairs guest room is being sorted there.
• W and Jono continue mudding the drywall. I pack away crystal glasses and art supplies, and post more stuff on Craigslist.
• We're now on the hunt for a small fridge, 14-18 cubic feet. (No handles please! The kitchen's too small for protrusions.)
• How strange to crawl out of bed rather than climbing down: our fourposter bed was tall. The futon mattress is as low as it gets.

  

  Buying lunch with our little helpers

• Sunday: we get to Creekside (love our church!) and the whole family comes over for lunch. I go a bit crazy cooking in my kitchen for the last Sunday. Thank you, Costco: 3 kinds of ravioli, kale salad, beet and jicama slaw, garlic bread, Alfredo sauce. oooooh - and dessert. We call K in TX as usual: it was her birthday last week. It's so good to hear her voice! and pray together, but we wish she was at the table. Miss K settles right into her nap with Elmo, her doggie, and a stuffed cat. She likes her new "room" (the guest closet) and sleeps for over 2 hours. Good girl!

 I'm astonished at how much furniture flew out our doors in the last weeks. I'd expect the home to be emptier. Except for waking up 8" from the floor, the house still feels full. T and M are gradually transferring their things to our place, refilling emptied rooms.

I'll decide what we're keeping, packing, and giving away once the basement cabinets are in. If something doesn't fit, we can't keep it, whether dishes, furniture, rugs, or clothing. Once we're moved, I'll pack up the rest of the house and the kids can take over.

The kitchen takes shape

Our sale funds buy basement appliances, paint, and building supplies. Two workers from our friend's company come and go each morning. Appliances and cupboards are scattered between a table holding tools. The dust causes me to cough when I view the progress downstairs each evening. A good friend brings by a propane construction heater. W paints the kitchen area and we're happy with those clear warm white walls and floor.

I'm trying not to get impatient, but it will take 3X longer to get things packed up with a 2-year-old helping. I have one more week of grace, but it's a week in which I can't move things any way but out. And so out things go! The less we keep the better.

I wonder about the things we attach ourselves to. Though I've enjoyed the abundance, I've begun to look forward to a pared-down life. The new season is rushing in.

Read more:
*We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. Psalm 48:9 NLT

*Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

Moravian Prayer: Oh God, to your temple we come. Where we are, you are. Let us come together in example and encouragement always in your name and following your will. Let our hearts show your Christian love, today and always. Amen.

Forest view

Our house was built for Christian hospitality. We're always looking for ways to make our home more useful and beautiful. 


Crate and Barrel was selling off Christmas stuff, just like other retailers. We picked up a Christmas display unit. I intend to re-purpose the four customizable shelves as greenhouse trays this spring. 


Rarely one to think within a plexiglass box, I've temporarily reinvented it for vegetable and fruit storage. It's an easy step from the kitchen door to glance at what is available for juicing and cooking. 


Waldemar may be a theologian and academic but he is rare among peers because he's also skilled in practical things. He's great at building things I design. But he has good ideas of his own, too. 


The sun porch emerged this fall. W was getting ready to replace rotting cedar on the back deck again. He priced hardwood decking and figured he could enclose the space for about the same price.


W worked evenings and weekends, tearing up the old decking before laying down a new sub-floor. He installed insulated greenhouse roofing and built frames around double-paned windows salvaged from patio sliders. Then he sliced 2"X10" boards for 1" pine flooring, which will be stained medium brown to match the house flooring when it warms up.


W finished the initial phase the Sunday before Christmas. The sofas from the LR were placed in the space for December, and we immediately used the sunroom for overflow Christmas entertaining.


After the holidays, we took our chaises, a patio table, and two chairs from storage. With a few blankets and a space heater,  we are enjoying the forest views even though it's winter outside.


I'm so proud of my husband's work! Isn't it beautiful? 


Read more:

*Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:1-5 NIV

*Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV

*Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:1-2 NEV