Monday, January 24, 2011

be excellent

In the past two weeks I have....

...huddled around a tiny table at a crowded Kihei Starbucks with my girlfriends, drinking our various forms of legal caffeinated addictions. We prayed and asked God for BIG things.
......laid in bed listening to the gentle rain tip tap on our tin carport outside our condo.
....sat in a moist car seat due to the windows accidentally being left down.
.......eaten spiral mac and cheese.
...bought 3 bottles of high spf sunscreen.
....admitted my biggest and best dream out loud to a friend.
......had a condo alone to myself for a weekend.
...deep cleaned a silverware drawer.
....hung out with new people.
........lived freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Galatians 5:16
...written out all of the questions I want answered right now. 22 of them.
......did yoga.
....cut and prepared 49 roses in vases for Sanctity of Life Sunday.
...blow dried my hair in front of our air conditioner.
....learned that "concussed" is actually a word!
.....ate a cake ball. And quickly ate another one :)
...ditched Kihei and got slurpees with Lisa.
.....learned what it looks like to be bold in Christ.
...conquered a fear.
......gave a friend a gift that meant something.
....dabbled in the ocean.
.....played sand volleyball.
...watched a sunset at Bigs while bagpipes played in the distance.
........sat in a jacuzzi and looked up at the stars.
"That clinches it- help's coming,
an answer's on the way,
everything's going to work out....

....Make the king a winner, GOD;
the day we call, give us your answer."

--Psalm 20:6, 9

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

dreaming big

There is something nostalgic about flying. It gives you time to process where you are going and where you are coming from. Being above everything makes me feel like I can think more clearly.

I learned a few things, while I was high up in the air.

Home is more than just a feeling. Kansas, whether it's my first pick or not, is my home. It makes up who I am. I climbed off the plane in Wichita and braced myself for a winter I hadn't experienced in over a year. Bits of hay gathered in the corners of the staircase I climbed to walk past the fifteen gates that make up the tiny ICT airport. Yep. This is home :)

Cooper and I stayed up late and talked. We giggled under the 4 blankets I insisted on sleeping with in order to feel warm enough. I love having a younger sister. I met my best friends' babies for the first time. Overjoyed to see so much love. Visiting with friends. Playing guitar and singing with my talented friend Adam. Best Chinese food of your life. North face. Puzzles with Papa. Chipotle. Super Target. Music. Visiting the grandparents and aunt and uncle. Driving in my jeep. New Years Eve Day with family. Movies. Showing Rendall around my Wichita life. Double Lattes. Hanging with my broski and Collins. My office ladies. More friends. Laughter. Kissing the parents goodnight every night.

Memories.

Short. Adjustments. Transition. Suddenly I'm already back on a plane, headed back to Maui. Maui. Warm Maui. It's a completely different life. A life that I love so much. Both places are familiar and homey. I can have more than one home, right?

"God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God-the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders
safe in the granite hideout;
My mountaintop refuge...."
--2nd Sammy 22:1-4

Already in the new year, I have started dreaming BIG dreams. Impossible dreams. I've been a witness to so many things I knew, absolutely knew, were impossible, and seen God turn them into possibilities. Excitement.

Risa