Disturbed but pleasant, randomly

Slate coloured Junco in our yard

Well, since Duane Scott is hinting that this might be the very last Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday I really must jump in with my own random splatterings...

Yesterday, here in my post on Mere Christianity I quoted C. S. Lewis talking about architects not being the walls in the houses they build...

ever since I can not, simply can not get an old Burt Bacarach song out of my head --

A chair is still a chair
Even when there's no one sitting there
But a chair is not a house
And a house is not a home
When there's no one there

Around and around swirl the words, with new questions popping up.

Is a squirrel still a squirrel if the dog doesn't care?
Would they jump from the branches to sit on a chair
if the chair was still a chair?
If I put out a chair
would the juncos sit there
that keep flying about and will perch anywhere?
And what kind of name is junco anyway?
When I hear it I can think only "junk"
and that's not a nice thing to call a bird, is it?

Take a few minutes to visit Duane and add your own form of random and disturbed pleasantry.  Perhaps we can persuade him that these times of silliness are vital to our mental health!

Random Thursday, disturbed and pleasant...

Allowing my mind to wander, ramble, flutter about and land where it will today.

The bright white expanses of snow that surround our home have been littered with twigs and branches disturbed by the ferocious winds that prowled our area yesterday.  Paths were filled in and drifts already high have taken on extreme proportions.  We're not sure if Faith can get into her dog house and I may go pound down a path with my feet because the snow is now too heavy for me to shovel.

But the sun is shining, temperatures are rising and how can I complain if this is the life I chose?

God has been speaking to me lately through many different sources:

On Monday as I drove behind Rick to the mechanic to drop off his truck for service I hesitated to play worship discs because of the bumpy road, so instead tuned in the local radio station.  I found myself singing along with Bruce Spingsteen's Dancing in the Dark and was struck through the heart by the lyric:

You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart

Thank You Lord, I thought, for reminding me that I cannot be effective for Your Kingdom if I'm too wrapped up in my "self".

And today I ran into the following quote by C. S. Lewis:

Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less

Again, like a two by four to the side of the head... it is not about me.  It is not about me at all.

Can I share a secret with you?  I don't mean to disappoint, but it isn't about you either.

It's all about Jesus.  Will you join me today in magnifying His name, turning our eyes off of the things of this world and fixing them on Him? 

It's a glorious view. 

Stop by Duane's Scribing the Journey to read more pleasant disturbances

Random on a Saturday

Image via Wikipedia

I have words, random words, dancing about my thoughts --

spin
to cause to turn around rapidly, as on an axis; twirl; whirl: to spin a coin on a table.

turn
to change or convert (usually fol. by into or to ): to turn water into ice; to turn tears into laughter.
to bring the lower layers of (sod, soil, etc.) to the surface, as in plowing.

centre
to be at or come to a center, to come to a focus; converge; concentrate
 
wait
to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens
Archaic. (of things) to be in readiness for; be reserved for; await: Glory waits thee.

rest
the refreshing quiet or repose of sleep: a good night's rest.
refreshing ease or inactivity after exertion or labor: to allow an hour for rest.
relief or freedom, esp. from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs.
a period or interval of inactivity, repose, solitude, or tranquillity: to go away for a rest.
mental or spiritual calm; tranquillity.

I'm not quite sure what to do with these, so:

I shall wait on the Lord Who turns all things for good
till my thoughts spin at the centre of His will
for there I will find my rest.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  Romans 8:26-28 The Message


Definintions found at dictionary.com

Pleasantly disturbed, random Thursday

Image via Wikipedia

Frost.. have you ever really noticed the layer of white that coats a chilly morning? Oh, I suppose most of you aren't even thinking about that yet, but it's already that cold up here.. yes, that cold.

Yet I chose this life here on the Canadian prairie, where Summer seems to be gone as quickly as it appears, and even in its harshness I find God's peace. When all is frozen and still I have no choice but to slow down, and there I can focus in on Him, the only thing of true importance.


Will it soon be time to plug in the vehicles? Yes, I said plug in, and no, we don't have electric automobiles. I remember being quite confused when Rick first mentioned that he had plugged in his car. Back home in Chicago, if someone was concerned about low temps they would remove the car battery and bring it inside to stay warm. Here, the cars are made with something called a block heater that keeps the oil warm enough to flow. That's what gets plugged in, and I am now quite used to seeing parking lots with little poles and outlets for each space. I'm sure it is hard for many of you to imagine, but when we have long spells of days hovering around 40 below it all begins to make sense.

But I'm running too far ahead of things. Yes, there was frost again this morning, but God may yet surprise us with a warm and sunny October. One year, that was our Summer, warmer then July and August. He does have a snarky sense of humour at times, must be where we got it from, eh?

Join Duane at Scribing the Journey to read more pleasant disturbedness...

Disturbed and not at all pleasant

Image by Creative Tools via Flickr

This is Thursday. A time to ramble. A time to randomize. A time to rant.

We serve a very big GOD, Who sees all, knows all and Is all. I don't like to give the enemy any more credit than in his pathetic smallness he deserves.

But...

You're messing with my friends.

Some are discouraged. Some are exhausted. Some are facing financial strain. Others are just under fire on the front lines.

Pray today for our dear friend Duane, the prince of pleasant and disturbed thinking. If you haven't heard about his accident, you can catch up on his blog Scribing the Journey .

I know he'll be reading our posts today, so let him know we love him, even though he's getting better drugs than the rest of us.

You might only have one arm to use right now Duane, but God is for you, so even in your weakness you can accomplish much.

I don't think there's a link-up today, at least not that I've heard of so far. But snoop around a bit and I'm sure you'll find the usual suspects, random and disturbed as always.

Disturbed indeed!

There is much to be done around Chez FireFly, most involving words that have to be sorted in this random brain and put into a form that will make sense for articles due and a sermon on Sunday.

Is there an enemy lurking that wishes to keep writers from writing? How many of you have met him? He's been showing his face far, far too often around here.

So this morning, I asked God to help me focus on the tasks at hand, and just as I was about to begin writing I noticed that our dog Faith has gotten covered in blue-bur seeds for the second time this morning. In the early summer these seeds look like tiny green velcro balls, by now, they are mostly brown but still sticky and they gather in clumps all over her body. Rick combed her out once before he went to work, and this second covering came not even an hour later. The longer we allow the seeds to remain, the more of her fur gets stuck and matted, so I just finished spending at least half an hour cleaning her up again!

Was I annoyed by the distraction, yes indeed. Then I remembered how God tends to us over and over and over again, washing away sin and the filth of the world that we we get entrangled in. Does He wish we would finally learn and avoid the sticky seeds? I would imagine so. Yet still in His love, He cleans us up and sets us back on our feet.

Where was I? Words, yes, words that need to come forth, to teach, encourage, and laundry in the dryer to be folded, and zuchinnis growing like crazy and...

This flower that we can't identify no matter how many google searches I do.

If you knw the name of this mystery flower, please share and allow me to check at least one thing off my list today.

Stop by Duane Scott's Scribing the Journey for more rambling by disturbed writers. And when you have moment in the midst of your own randomness, pray that I would find a moment of focus and clarity and that words would flow as He directs.

Random pleasant and disturbed

"There are things that I must accomplish this week, but it's just a jumble. I feel like I've taken a prescription medication belonging to someone else."

So said Cassandra Frear at the MoonBoat Cafe on Monday and every part of my random brain resonated with her words. The feeling has shadowed me through the week, like mist or an echo.

Have you been there? When whatever you happen to be doing the thought fills your mind that you should be somewhere else, yet you can't quite remember where? When you start to think you might need a road map to keep track of your scattered thoughts? When you are doing nothing and everything all at once?

I suppose that Thursday is a good place to be now, where random, pleasant and disturbed is called forth.

You have read many words about my mosquito issues, so I feel I must share a praise worthy report. I received this delightful metal sculpture from a dear friend on my birthday earlier this month, and Rick mounted it on the wall beside the back door.

A few days later, we noticed that our yard and surrounding area were filling with huge, real dragonflies, flying about like mini-helipcopters, as if they were coming to worship the image of their god. Not only are they interesting creatures to watch.. they eat, yes, eat.. mosquitoes, as many as they can find! The mosquito population has all but disappeared.

God and His wonderous ways have triumphed once again! Eating mosquitoes enables female dragonflies to lay their eggs which in turn creates more dragonflies that will eventually eat more mosquitoes. Eating up mosquitos, eating up mosquitoes....

Wow.. anyone remember this song from the early days of MTV?

"Fish heads, fish heads, roly-poly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yummmm!"

Okay.. now I AM disturbed...

think I'd best free you to go explore other strange but pleasant posts at Duane_Scott's Scribing the Journey

Thursday - Pleasantly disturbed

Random, so random my thoughts will not settle

so instead I'm eating cinnamon toast ala The Pioneer Woman

yes.. it's bread (at least I'm using multi-grain flax bread)

yes- it's butter (and no small amount at that)

yes- it's sugar

and cinnamon.. I drift on the aroma alone, let alone the taste

Because my refrigerator was void of yogurt, my routine breakfast

partnered with sensible cereal

I have broken free

and found delight
my taste buds dance

rejoicing

and leave me wanting more

But there is yet One

Who leaves an even sweeter lingering

and ache for abundance

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Psalm 34:8 The Message

Are you disturbed? Are you hungry? Stop by Duane Scott's Scribing the Journey for more tastes of Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays and maybe some cheetos too.

Pleasantly disturbed and a bit loony

This weekend I realized that the choice of a loon on our $1.00 coins makes perfect sense. I have never before been blessed to see and hear quite so many of the beautiful birds. As an added delight, there were babies in the mix!

So call me a loonie and I'll accept that as a compliment. Out in left field? A bit askew? Over the top? Off the deep end? I'll receive them all, with a smile and "thank you very much". I want to be smack dab in the center of God's perfect will and that may often look upside down to the world. It looks funny to me too most of the time, but I'm learning to ask Him to allow me to see through His eyes.

Speaking of eyes, mine have been busy reading too many books at once, while my mind twitches with thoughts of reviews I should be writing.

I just finished the novel Priceless by Tom Davis (the CEO of Children's Hope Chest) and cannot yet put into words how my spirit was stirred. Is child slavery and sex trafficking alive and well in Russia and the rest of our world? Too alive and far too well, and we can't allow the devil to continue to have his way. Pray with me that the Lord gives me the words He desires me to write, in His timing.

I am pages from the end of Pete Wilson's book Plan B and have heard the voice of God speak over and over through Pete's words. This is a book that will bring clarity, comfort and hope to those who find themselves on the flip side of where they thought their life would be. The good news is that God is still there. More on this to follow...

There are more books stacked and waiting to be opened, while grass cries to be cut and mosquitos drool waiting for me to answer the call so they may have their way with me yet again. I wish they would be a bit more random in their choice of blood options.

Yes, they are God's creatures... I know.. I know...

Come on over to Duane Scott's Scribing the Journey to join in the randomness!

Disturbed, listening, not quite pleasant

Is it Thursday already? Moments turn into hours, melt into days, and another week has passed.

God has been speaking about being "intentional" and living life on purpose, which has very little to do with being "random"... yet...

My thoughts wander where they will, landing lightly in some places, falling with a heavy thud in others.

Focus blurs. I attempt to still my own noise and listen for His greater heartbeat.

He says:

Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God

Psalm 46:10a Amplified

and He says:

I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." God's Decree."For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Isaiah 55:9 The Message

I will take my comfort there. To know that He is God and I am not. For that and so much more, I am truly filled to overflowing with thanksgiving.

Join in the randomness of Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays at Duane Scott's

Pleasantly random, yet disturbed

Image by dcdan via Flickr

I have a Benadryl hangover this morning. Took two last night with a prayer that the itching and swelling of 40 billion mosquito bites would cease.

Speaking of mosquitos (yes, again, sorry) I have been told they do indeed have a purpose, they are pollinators. I wish I didn't know that, makes it just a little bit harder to continue hating them.

I wandered out into the coolness of this morning to wiggle my toes in the wet grass, grateful beyond measure for the land that surrounds our home and supressed the wild urge to break into singing:

"Thank God I'm a country girl!"

The last ten years seem to have washed away any traces of urbanity (is this a word? if not, it should be).

Just noticed a tweet from @visitlpz (visit Lincoln Park Zoo) which is in Chicago and I did just that with my mom just last month. Tweet was "Come nose-to-nose with Holstein dairy cows at the Crown Dairy Barn in the Farm-in-the-Zoo Presented by John Deere at 10:30 a.m."

Face to face with cows is much more real to me now than face to face with buses, or subways, or tall buildings. I need not visit a zoo to see farm animals, merely wander down the road. And as for John Deere? We have neighbors and friends with blood that flows green and yellow!

No, I'm not sitting here with a bit of wheat straw sticking out of my mouth, I'm just sayin...

Life is good, God is great and I'll choose these prairies again and again.

Even with all the mosquitos....

Join us to read more and participate in Duane Scott's Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays.

Pleasantly Disturbed?

My blogger friend Duane Scott, in his pleasantly disturbed fashion has chosen to begin a new carnival link-up titled Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays.  He asks us to throw together random thoughts that have filled our brains, noting that there is no requirement that the posts make sense.

Being one who can't turn her back on a challenge, here is my entry to this week's randomness.

While I was looking at the clouds Tuesday morning, wishing that the rain would not come, but knowing there was no stopping it, I knew I had to praise God anyway.  Out of the blue, from my lips burst my own version of an old song, and I knew that my spirit was singing to my Lord.

I'm gonna love You, like nobody's loved You, come rain or come shine.
Happy together, in all kinds of weather, now won't that be fine.
Days may be cloudy or sunny, I'm in or I'm out of the money,
But I'll love You always, I'm with You, rain or shine.
You always love me, like nobody's loved me......

And the skies grew darker, thunder rumbled, the wind roared through the trees and the rain pounded down so loudly I kept running to the door to see if it was hail.  Three years ago we had a hail storm in our region that left almost 90% of the homes needing new roofs and siding, softball size pellets with jagged edges tore through whatever was in their way.

I like sunshine, warm breezes, and grass that stops growing so it doesn't need to be cut.

How many mosquitos could a softball sized hailstone crush at one time?  I know.. God created mosquitos, I wrote about that last week.  He also created ants, and over 250,000 different varieties of beetles.  Would you call Him pleasantly disturbed also?  But I will yet praise Him.

I used to be a city girl from the Chicago metro area, one state away from Wisconsin, dairyland USA, where most cows are Holsteins, black and white.  Imagine my surprise upon arriving here to find brown cows, beige cows, solid velvety black cows, cows the colour of cinnamon (would they give cinnamon milk?) and many other pigmentations.  They eat grass and grain and taste really, really good.  If you stop next to field the herd will all turn with the same expression on their faces, as if to say "What do you want from me?  I'm a cow!"

Oh, by the way.. did I tell you, I really, really don't like mosquitos.

Are you disturbed yet?  Is it pleasant?  Come share with us at Duane Scott's where we may not be making any sense at all.