storage units

Have you noticed how many streets have big storage unit complexes? Even an investment firm is advertising that storage units are the next best investment. People buy a lot of stuff and then need to store something to make room for the new thing.

One of my family groups is selling their house. They are in the process of "staging" it so it can look beautiful to sell. They have been told to reduce their clutter so they are packing up boxes and boxes of stuff and putting it into a storage unit. Now if they can store it for several months, how much of it do they really need?

They work hard. They can afford their clutter. They have 4 children. But, again, if they can manage without this "clutter" for months, do they really need it?

I think it's a question for all of us. How much of our stuff is clutter and how much do we really need?
Our consumerism is owning us. We work hard. We put ourselves under such stress----for what? ---so we can buy more stuff to store? I'm as bad as the next guy. We went to an estate sale on Friday. I bought a set of brightly painted dishes---not a full set but enough to fill up a cupboard. They are colorful. Fun---something very different from what I have.  When I use them I call it our "happy meal." But I truly didn't need them. More stuff. More work to find space.

If I want a simple life...if I want less stress...I need to take time to think through what I buy.  Will this simplify my life or complicate it?

This clutter is just one of the pieces of life as we search for real peace... "a peace that passes all understanding." The real peace comes from knowing we are held in God's arms. No storage units...no painted dishes. Just trust.

Today, let me take a deep breath...and trust.

Blessings-Penny

topics

Sometimes---not often---but sometimes I wonder what topic I might write about in this blog. Clearly there are good people who check if there is something new on here. You seem to check a couple of times a month. And if you check it seems I need to make the effort to write something. And clearly there is enough "stuff" going on in the world that there should be an easily available topic.

But at these times I wonder if there is anything more to say---anything that hasn't been said;  like----
---the current politics in this country are profoundly troubling and embarrassing :
---Isis needs to be stopped somehow without killing innocent people
---mental illness treatment needs to be funded
There are lots of topics for which I have a strong opinion, but my opinion is nothing new or profound.

And then there are the good things:
---my son's fifth anniversary and the strong family he and his wife created---a situation that took much work and sacrifice ---one of those daily miracles
---my friend's (more than friend) continued recovery from her bone marrow transplant ---and her new curly hair---one of those daily miracles
---the gorgeous roses blooming so profusely in this neighborhood---daily miracle

Don't you sometimes wonder what meaning this all has?
How am I to be in all of this?

I guess it's an existential Monday. Sounds like a song title.---sounds like I'm a little loose today.
Relax---enjoy---and join me in my existential Monday.
Thank God---really---for a day to be a little loose.

Blessings-Penny

a life

We had our kitchen cabinets, walls etc. painted last week. What chaos! I certainly didn't expect the amount of  plastic sheeting and taping required. This is a small house and it felt like we were living in a plastic bubble. Anyway, it's done and looks lovely.

At one point I heard the woman forewoman of the job, Eileen, and a young co-worker talking. The forewoman was saying how difficult it is for her to learn Spanish. "English is my second language. My first language was sign language...My parents were both deaf and I learned sign language first...I had to learn to speak and speak English by spending time with my grandmother."

Now think about the challenge this woman had as a child! She talked about the challenge of elementary school...the teasing and the social consequences of halting English. She speaks fluent English now and I never would have guessed this woman's story and courage. I wish I had time to hear more. How did she learn to overcome her obstacles? How did she gain the confidence to persue her goals? (She was a tough forewomam---gave instructions in both English and Spanish---firm, no nonsense voice.)

A symbol of Eileen's success was a beautiful dark green F100 truck---immaculately kept. What did that truck represent to her?

Aren't people's stories amazing? And to think of the stories we miss hearing---the nurse, the teacher, the clerk, the pastor, the taxi driver, the housekeeper. Each of us has a story---a story so important.

Each of us is a child of God. Loved and cherished.

Dear God, today help me take a moment to look into the eyes of the people I encounter and know there is a story---a very important story. Help me acknowledge that story by a smile.
Blessings-Penny

Boredom versus Joy

A recent review of a book on gambling caught my eye---we live in Las Vegas and gambling is all around---not just the casinos but drugstores, supermarkets, gas stations. The video poker machines are EVERYWHERE. The book was making the point that what makes these machines so addictive is that they relieve boredom. There is just enough "winning" to cause excitement

The larger point was that addiction often (not always-but often) begins as a way to deflect our boredom. "I'll have a drink...I'll smoke some weed...I'll take a hit" to relieve my boredom. We may not say it that way but that can be a message we give ourselves.

This book challenges us by saying that the opposite of boredom is not just finding some work to take our mind off our boredom but the opposite of boredom is extravagant joy. I was reminded of that as my visiting family and I visited the Red Rock State Park here just out of Las Vegas. Maybe it wasn't "extravagant joy" but it was an awesome sense of God's work in the ongoing creation of this world.

A quote from the book, "Celebration cannot occur without seeing the world as God sees it, without loving its goodness; in fact God's very nature is celebratory, an endless dance of mirth."

Do I think of God's very nature  as mirth? Or do I live in "fear" of His nature?
Today can I take time to see the world as God sees it and celebrate with joy? Extravagant joy?
Blessings-Penny