rain, rain go away

today is the 6th day in a row of overcast skies and/or thunderstorms. i know we need the rain for nourishing the ground (and my fledgling garden) but i am starting to crave the sunlight again. i think the lack of natural vitamin d is making me sleepy and lethargic.

or maybe i'm just really ready for vacation.

there's a mouse in my house!

i think.

so last night, i'm on the phone unloading my day when across the room i see my mom waving her arms wildly and pointing down at my feet.

i know my toenail polish is badly chipped, but is that sort of reaction really necessary?

apparently some animal scurried behind my feet while i was chatting away. she thought it was a mouse. so we traipsed across town to buy traps at 10:30pm. we filled the little covered ones with peanut butter and laid out some plain old vats of poisonous glue. and then we went to bed with high hopes of our trapping ability.

the traps were empty and untripped this morning. i asked for confirmation.

"was it furry?"

"i think so."

"what color was it?"

"dark brown, i think."

"did it waddle like a rodent?"

"i don't think so. i don't remember it having legs."

"did it have a tail?"

"not that i remember."

do you see what i'm seeing? an awful lot of "i think so" comments, and not that much confirmation.

so now we think it was some other type of creature minding its own business. but that doesn't exactly make me happy to think of walking in my kitchen in bare feet. and there is nothing more depressing than having to wear shoes in one's own kitchen.

i hope we catch whatever it was soon. or that it at least relocates. permanently.

time and space

I just got back from a trip through the heart of the country. I got to see real mountains, real wildlife, and the inspiration for one of the most patriotic songs of all time, "America the Beautiful."

I was struck again by the amazing beauty of our country. As one of my favorite singers once wrote, "the mountains sing Your glory hallelujahs / the canyons echo sweet amazing grace...I've got nothing to say."

I took about a million pictures while I was there (okay, not literally, but I certainly wasn't shy with the trigger finger). And I realized that as much as I love overseas travel and hope to do more of it, I am home here. In this country. Not forever home. But in this time and in this space, this is where I am called. To do what, I don't know.

The time away gave me a chance to consider and pray about the decisions I have ahead of me. In my last post I talked about being at the edge of reason. Probably a bit of an exaggeration (and a loose use of a Bridget Jones movie title) but I said it. It's not entirely true, however.

If I was actually at the edge of reason, I'd have all these rational reasons to choose something that makes (or doesn't make, depending on your point of view) sense. But the truth is that there is Truth to be shared.

My love for God hasn't changed. Nor has my desire to live a life that is right in His sight. But my heart does ache with a burden to see this special person see his need for Christ.

A couple weeks ago my friend Amy and I were talking about spiritual gifts. And my heart swells with all that he could do if the kindness he shows today were transformed into mercy rooted in the love of Christ. And I can't think of a better reason to get on my knees now and pray for just that.