In Every Moment

Today my dearly beloved husband met me at Starbucks for our first taste of Fall by enjoying their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Ahh, seasonal bliss. Tantalizing to the taste buds and invigorating as it warms your hands and your insides.  Oh course I also had to enjoy a Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin while I was there, seeing as those are also only around this time of year and are usually gobbled up by early-morning-coffee-goers who can’t fathom a day beginning without their high dose of sugar and jolt of caffeine.

We sat outside, the low 70-something breeze blowing around us, the sky overcast, trying to ignore the spits of rain we felt. It was lovely just being together, even if it did feel like Seattle. Having a break in the middle of a work day simply to sit at a café and be together was wonderful, relaxing, and a breath of fresh air. Just being together is the best. The A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E. B.E.S.T.

It’s the small moments that sometimes bring the most joy. I sat there and silently thanked God for the blessing of those small moments and the amazing husband that I get to share them with.  The everyday life is ten-times better because we're together.  What a gift.

I returned to work, and had an email waiting for me. A friend of mine was just diagnosed with breast cancer; her surgery is this afternoon. It was so fast, so unexpected….”Not her, Lord!” were the first words I wanted to utter. But my God is not only a God of small moments, He is the God of big moments too. It hurt to read the words on that page, but I was reminded that God was greater than all this.

Where are words in the midst of pain? How to you reply to an email like that, or even find the right words to pray for them? But God knows.

I crept away to an empty room to pray. Prayed for the surgeon, prayed for my friend, and prayed for her husband. These people don’t profess an active faith in the Lord, so maybe God will use this to draw them to Himself. I am praying that He will. I am praying He will guide the hands of the surgeon and grant them knowledge in how to best deal with this situation, and that He will grant strength to this couple. This couple who loves each other more deeply than most, and that would never leave each other no matter what. I prayed that they would come to know the Great Physician and the true Healer, and that though this He would be glorified…and that she would be healed.

God is there, in the sunshine and the shadow, in the quiet blissful moments, and the moments of pain and tears. How I praise Him for His faithfulness and the hand that guides me and He who walks beside me each step of the way.

Running through yesterday into tomorrow
Don’t let it just drift away
Forget about tying the hands of time
Give every minute to the One who gave us today
-- Joy Williams

Dancing

Dancing.  Musicals.  Theater.
I love it all.

Here are a few video tributes to what are some of my favorite dancers and dances.

Enjoy!

Singin' In The Rain - "Good Mornin'"
Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Conner


Tribute to Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers


The King and I - "Shall We Dance"
Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr


Jamie Salé and David Pelletier - "Love Story"

Watcha Been Doing?

In the past few weeks :

• 
  
  I went to my first Pilates class.
  And stretched muscles I didn’t even know existed.
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  I fell in love with Norah Jones all over again.
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  I renewed my delight in drinking green tea in the morning.
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  I realized what a nightmare it can be shopping for bridesmaids dresses that look good on three people of varying sizes and shapes.
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  I discovered that if you puree squash you can mix it in just about anything for extra nutrients and no taste.
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  I learned that people think we’re strange for installing a clothes line. ...and I think our neighbors are groaning because they think we're hillbillies in the city.
  
  And last, but certainly not least, in the last few weeks:
  
  
  
  My husband took me on my first rollercoaster ride.
  ….and I screamed the whole time.
  So much so, that everybody else on the ride,
  and those waiting in line on the ground, were laughing.
  Loudly.   At me.    Never again.
  
  
  
• What have y'all been up to lately?