I'm Coming Back!

Watch for a new blog soon - I will explain all when I return!

Moving Day is Almost Here!

I move on Friday! Yay! I am so excited about the new beginning in a new haven. Tonight my daughter and daughter-in-love are coming over to get everything totally boxed up. (I traded efforts with my daughter-in-love - I watched my precious crowning glory last night and she is giving me a night of assisted packing tonight. Yes!)

Once I get in my new digs, I will post photos and I vow to become a better blogger. I will never equal my daughter but, hey, the next generation is supposed to outshine the last. After all, she is a product of her upbringing. (No snide remarks allowed!)

I am most grateful to a never-changing, always-present God who provides just what I need exactly when I need it. I think it is wonderful that I don't even need to send him a change of address card. He knows where I will be on September 1st before I even get there. How awesome is He!

Stayed tuned - and let the adventure begin!

State of the Flood Report

A quick update for my two readers. (I sure wish lurkers would reveal themselves!) I am packing up the apartment and am scheduled to move to a new haven on August 31. Pray that I find the perfect place, within my spending plan, and with wonderful management!

I would like to find my orderly mind during this transition. I have lived in anticipation of plans I had for my life for so long, that I need to fall into the plans God has for me. Does anyone identify with that? God is so much smarter about my life than I am - and it's HIGH TIME I let him take total control.

My computer's power source drowned in the mini-flood and I am awaiting (with eager anticipation) for the insurance check to begin replacing the essential of my life. I am using my precious daughter's computer. Speaking of precious daughter, she is doing my laundry. How wonderful (and loving) is that! I may not get a new washer and dryer (just kidding, daugher!). Do you think the purchase of an iron is essential? I'm giving that come thought, since before the mini-flood it was rarely used and now I seem to need it a lot! What's up with that?

God is good through all our struggles. I will post more the next time my daugher and son-in-love leave home. That's when I slip in and use the computer (with their blessings, of course.)

Wonder what I can find to eat.......

Lessons from the flood

God is so amazing! The application stories keep on flooding in (pun intended). Since the flood of June 10, I have realized God really is in the details. I have been living for the last week in a little one room suite, like a dorm room, only without roommates. Susan calls it the "homeless suite" and I've come to know it at the "waiting room."

I'm getting ahead of my story. When I last posted, here is what my haven looked like:

(That's my TV face down on the princess chair!)

Once I dried off (very different from drying out - LOL), I took some of my belongings, spent a few nights with my darling daughter, moved to the waiting place, called the insurance company, called a lawyer (that's another post), and settled in to wait for the drying and decisions to take place.

Here is what my calendar had on it for June 18. (Thank you, Roy Lessin.) "We never have to worry about beating God to a situation in our lives. We will never be the first one to arrive on the scene. We will never need to dial a heavenly 911 to inform God about what has happened. We won't ever have to wait for Him to show up and bring help. He is always ahead of us...He always goes before us...He always prepares the way."

Stay tuned, blog fans. (aka known as the faithful three) I am still waiting - God knew the insurance adjuster couldn't schedule me until June 25. I am still realizing the wonderful possibilities. I am looking for a new apartment. And I am almost content in the suite I am in. One more picture, with humor:

Could this be a sign?

Wellspring of a Different Variety

I've recently been doing a word study on the power of words. In Proverbs 2:23, we are admonished to "guard our heart, for it is the wellspring of life." We all know that what we think in our heart, we often speak. Few words are better than many words. And on and on I could go.

The God I serve really has a sense of humor. Sunday evening: I am cozied down on my "Princess" chair - that's what my crowning glories call my chaise lounge - watching the 2nd game of the NBA basketball finals (go Spurs!) when I hear the tinkling of water. Being a curious type princess, I get up to see what could possible be tinkling in my apartment with that much volume. (Remember, I am a single Lynnie with no roommates!) Wow! Water, as in a wellspring, is falling from the ceiling of my laundry closet! It had already soaked the hall carpet and was really making headway. Folks, I honestly thought it was falling from overhead....I ran up stairs to alert my apparently clueless neighbors only to find out they were not at home. Back down the stairs I run, put in an emergency call to my apartment on this at-one-time-peaceful Sunday evening, only to reach the answering service. She s-l-o-w-l-y takes the information, so s-l-o-w-l-y that I actually say, "M'am, there is a lot of water falling around me, do you think you could write faster?" She couldn't, nor could she dial/page/beep or otherwise get excited about my predicament.

30 minutes later, still no response from maintenance. I call again to be assured that maintenance has been paged. "M'am," I say, "did you talk to a person or just page someone?" That was a very confusing question for her, so I hang up and check out the hallway, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom of my "haven." (I also quickly checked the score - go Spurs!)

At this stage I decided to do what most moms do - I call my kids. No one answered. I did not leave messages, I just thought - maintenance will be here soon. Precious daughter and son-in-love did call me back and arrived to give me words of encouragement shortly thereafter. I think they were shocked!

I call again to the turtle service, uh, answering service. This time Ms. Slowpoke asked if I'd like to talk to a supervisor. Who knew - answering services have supervisors - Not! She put me on hold! I hung up and dialed 9-1-1.

9-1-1: What is your emergency?

I quickly let them know it is not life threatening and I apologized for bothering them (can you spell codependent?). They listen to my problem and took my information (quickly, I might add!) and said they would call the apartment complex and get back with me.

About 10 minutes later, the precious 9-1-1 operator called to ask if the maintenance calvery had arrived. Bless her heart, she actually seemed shocked that they had not! She was so sympathetic and encouraged me to keep calling the answering service and also to call them with my results. (I am thankful that it was a slow night in the town I live in - at least for the law enforcement agencies - water was seeping up to my ankles in The Haven.) The Spurs were romping them! Yes!

Well, long story short - The maintenance calvery arrived about 3 hours later - discovered that the water was actually coming from MY laundry closet, not the one above me. Although I felt a little blonde, I also know that maintenance issues have never been my gift - I am not a plumber, I am lethal with most tools. Sidenote: I am a very together business professional with three beautiful crowning glories. Who knew that a water hose could break in a not-being-used-washer and flood an apartment? By this time, the Spurs had won Game 2!

Well, the most precious carpet calvery men showed up and after vacuuming over 100 gallons of water out of my water logged apartment, left to rest up around 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning. My apartment is in totally disarray, fans are blowing their darnedest to dry out the carpet, all the carpet pads have been trashed, it's hot and humid in the Haven and I am camping out at my precious daughter's apartment (thank you, son-in-love, for camping out at your mom's while we dry out).

My words have mostly been gracious to all those involved in the response/non-response to my crisis. I only had one tense moment in which no one got hurt! I am grateful for insurance - I know in the wellspring of my heart that everything I own belongs to the Giver of all. (I apologize, Giver of all, your things are a little wet right now.) I now have an opportunity to really clean up the place and get rid of the amazing amount of treasures that can be collected in one's life. It will be at least 3 days before the furniture can be moved back in place and 2 weeks before the insurance adjuster will arrive.

May my words continue to be gracious in the days ahead! Stay tuned!

Birthday Thoughts

Today is my birthday. I am fifty-something and so excited about it. I am now eligible for the senior discount at McDonald's and IHOP. Senior discounts come at a good time in one's life - when one has Crowning Glories that enjoy both of the previously mentioned restaurants. (I wonder if Del Frisco's has senior discounts - that one is more my style!)

My birthday tradition is to read Psalms 139 and apply it to me. Did you know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made (NIV) and wonderfully complex (NLT). The wonderfully complex comes as no surprise to my children - they are still trying to figure me out! (LOL!) Today something new struck me in this Psalms written for me: You place your hand of blessing on MY head (vs. 5-NLT). Who knew? All these years I thought God blessed other people and now I read that he blesses me! What an amazing God. I love Him so! I am going to walk more energetically today because God's hand is on my head blessing me.

I look forward to the next year. Heck, I look forward to the next moment. God is in control and all is well in my world. Come along with us (God and me) - enjoy the journey. Let's have a wonder-filled year. Thank you for the blessing you are in my life. Be blessed today - delight yourself in God! Praise the Lord! (I miss you, Mom!)

And let me know where else I can use senior discounts at the ripe young age of 55!

Where Does All The Time Go?

It's been a while since I posted anything on my blog! It would seem that a single, empty-nester, interesting chick would have something to write about - and time to do it! NOT! Trust me, youngsters, there is life after child-raising - only child-raising really NEVER totally goes away.

That's one of the things that thrills my soul - a phone call from one of my adult children who say, "Mom, I need some advice, direction, input, etc." Do you know how precious that is to me? Me, the Mom who fell down many, many times (but always got back up!) being a Mom whose children call me blessed, wise, loving, crazy, funny, and many other things that as of yet, they haven't said to my face (chuckle!). Trust me, I still disappoint them. And through all the successes and failures, they love me. That is the true reward of motherhood. Looking up into the eyes of my children and knowing - they will never outgrow my heart! That bond that begins when a mother co-creates with God to knit those babies inside her own body, is never broken. There are time when they are strained, there are times when they get a little frazzled and worn, there is never a time when they are severed. Yes, we cut the strings - we give them wings to take flight. And we cheer when they succeed, we pray when they struggle, we cry when they hurt, we are fearful when they take on new responsibilities, we worry if they are resting enough, eating their veggies, and so on. As witnessed in the life of my precious grandmother, Mom, a mother never, ever gives up on her children. No matter how old they get!

• Moms of young children - keep the faith.
• Moms of teenagers - keep the faith.
• Moms of young adults - keep the faith.

God will continue the work that he began in their lives and bring it to full completion at the throne of grace.

There is no great joy than knowing my children walk with the Lord. May you know that same joy!