Arrivederci

Okay, so this time I am well aware that it's been yet another month. I just haven't been inspired to write, I guess. Don't worry; you haven't missed much. ;-) But I just wanted to say "arrivederci" as Justin and I leave for our "honeymoon." Italy awaits!

Has it really been a month??

Thanks so much to those of you who wrote to share your insight (a month ago!). It's interesting how we can all get caught up in the same dry cycles, and I love knowing that none of us is alone in that...and that we can push each other to cycle right on out of our funks. How's that going for everyone else?

Well, February has still not brought me much editing work, but I have been busy. I ended up at the volunteer office on base looking into ways to volunteer, and then I just never left. Turns out the volunteer office actually utilizes volunteers! Who would have guessed? I come in two mornings a week, and so far I've done some oh-so-exciting refiling for the financial aid office and am currently helping edit/redesign a volunteer handbook the coordinator has put together. I also looked into helping to teach ESL and agreed to help out at a class that meets for two hours twice a week. I showed up and found out the class was actually an Adult Basic Education/GED class. Oh well. That works too. The people there are working independently in reading and math books, so I just help out whenever someone needs it. I have a lot of respect for the people taking that class. I think I would find it hard to swallow my pride and come learn basic math or how to read (or to read better) after getting along without it for so many years. I think I mentioned this before, but I've been wanting to find some way to serve for quite a while now, I've just had no idea where to start. I still don't know if I'm on the right track, but it's a start at least--something to try. I feel like it's all still kind of a grand experiment, though. And although I haven't felt any lightning bolts from God booming, "Lisa, this is what I have called you to do!" at the very least I feel confident that I am being a better servant now than I was while sitting on my couch doing nothing of consequence. And that's a good feeling.

One more update and then I'll be done. I've started working part time for a resume service, critiquing resumes for free. The job is purely based on commission, and while I've always been skeptical of such jobs, I'm confident this one is on the up and up and I had thought it would be a good use of my skills. However, so far I'm making almost no money. I've had more "Thanks but no thanks" responses lately, which is at least a step in the right direction, but still hardly any actual sales. We're lowering our prices this month, so I'm going to stick it out a while longer and see if things turn around, but the jury's still out on my opinion of this job. Basically, concerning volunteering work and "paid" work, I'm still in need of some discernment, and I'm hoping that will come with time.

Thanks for the support guys. Hope this finds you all cycling up rather than down. :-)

Quote for the Day

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.

This quote is by G.K. Chesterton and was up on Without Wax's blog today. I've never heard it before but found it beautiful. Here's to recovering our appetite of infancy.

Identity

If you were to create your own name, what would it be?

Desert wanderings

Why is it that, generally speaking, when we humans have no big goals on our to-do list, we put off doing the few things we can do like cleaning up the house or going to the grocery store or whatever it may be? When I'm bored, I just can't seem to do a thing for myself, and then it becomes oh-so-easy to wallow. Know what I'm talkin' about?

Well, my tolerance for occupying myself with meaningless activities (and for wallowing) has officially run out. I mean, really, there's only so much Solitaire a person can take, and I have a higher tolerance for repetitive activity than most. So these past two weeks I have been making an effort to be more intentional about how I spend my time. And, quite honestly, it has not been easy. I've been feeling aimless for too long, and it has become comfortable in its familiarity, even if it has not made me happy. It is SAFE.

Last night I went to a Bible study that focused on Exodus 16. I'm sure many of you know the story, but I'm just going to set up a little context here for the sake of my own story. God had delivered the Israelites from their lives as slaves in Egypt, and at this point they were a month into their wanderings in the desert. Already they were beginning to suggest that maybe they had been better off in Egypt as slaves. (I think the desert must have made them delusional.) So God responded to their grumbling by giving them a daily supply of manna. Each morning, they had only to go out and gather what they needed. The only catch was, they could not store up more than they needed for the day because what they didn't use in a day would rot (with the exception of the day before the Sabbath). Well, the Bible study compared the manna--the Israelites' daily bread--to God's Word--the daily bread we have today. It reiterated the importance of spending time with God every day and not spiritually starving ourselves. Because as much as we would like to, we cannot store up God's Word one day out of the week and expect it to sustain us any more than we could survive by eating only one day a week.

It really hit me last night that I am experiencing a time in the desert--literally, a time of wandering aimlessly. Yet I have been refusing to gather up what God so graciously gives me every day and have been waiting...for what? For something even more miraculous than daily grace? So I am trying to be faithful in the little things. After all, if I can't handle taking care of my house and my husband when I have nothing else to do, how can I expect to be entrusted with anything bigger? I don't think I can.

So, God willing, I will be sharing more with you in the next couple of weeks about new work and volunteer opportunities I'm hoping to pursue. I've started to ask about a few options. Now I'm just waiting to see how the chips fall, and I can go from there. And I can hardly wait.

What's the most meaningful work or volunteer project you've ever been privileged to be part of?