"too much stuff"

My family and I have this joke. We often exclaim, "too much food" in an annoying high pitched voice. We might or might not be making fun of someone. My incredible mamma spent the past two and a half weeks packing my house. (more on this later.) I never expected to pack so much so quickly. She left me with the bare essentials. It has astonished me what we have been able to do with so little. Our culture is so accustomed to needing every little thing, that sometimes we forget to be creative. I learned so much from my boss at the flower shop, Kim. We teased her that her degree was in "Macgyver" because she could come up with a solution for any problem. I think Kim would be proud of mom and I's "macgyver-ness" the last few weeks. Here are a few examples. 

 Went to the bear trail and forgot Wyatt's leash. We happened to have a long chain in the back of the car that needed to go back to Ace. Mom thought of taking the straps of Wyatt's car seat cover, attaching them to the chain, and we were off walking. 

 Made banana bread tonight. Normally, I would need a measuring cup for the wet ingredients, one for the dry ingredients, one for teaspoon, a bowl to mash..... (blah, blah, blah). This time I used one bowl, one measuring cup and one teaspoon. Oh, and a wooden spoon. The batter tasted just right and cleaning up was so much simpler. 

 Mom is definitely a Macgyver in the kitchen. That lady can make gourmet out of nothing. Many nights, we thought we had "nothing in the houseto eat" and ended up with a delicious dinner. One night, we had incredible basil asparagus pasta with parmesan. We had delicious scalloped potatoes and braised chicken thighs. She even left we with the most amazing turkey soup to have this week. We were out of noodles, so it has peal couscous instead. I like it so much, I will make it that way again! 


Sure, I miss some of the stuff in those 150 boxes. But I also wonder if I have been too set on stuff. When in reality it is "too much stuff, too much stuff." In my new house, I want to live simpler. Uh oh. I feel Garage Sale round 2 coming!

 

Amazed.

I should be sleeping. But I cannot help but be amazed at God right now. I am not sure how he continues to blow me away with his generosity. You would think I would know him well enough by now to remember that he will always provide. I tried really hard not to obsess over where we would live when we got to Virginia. I really did see all the perks in a small apartment (less to clean, no projects), or an RV (vacation, living on the water). But the truth was.... it made me sad. I have come to love our house on Heatherwood. I love my garden and growing my own veggies. I love my herb garden, that really only grows mint. I love my back porch. I love my cosmos from Katie that come back every spring. I love snipping zinnias. I love throwing parties and using all my fun wedding gifts. I love my Baylor paintings that hang in our room. I read this book (not something I usually do during the school year) called Evidence Not Seen. It is the true story of a missionary who spends 4 years in a Japanese POW camp during WWII. She can take 2 trunks with her to the mission field. As she is captured and transferred place to place, she slowly looses her earthly possessions. She talks about her sadness, but her faith is the most incredible thing I have ever read about. It was so inspiring. I really was ready to lock the door on my house and leave it all behind. I am not excited to move to Virginia, but I am confident God wants me to go. So, I will go, gritting my teeth and smiling. Because the Lord shows over and over again that he provides. So, as soon as I wrap my head around a storage unit and a camper, the price on the house lowers to exactly where we needed it to be. And I sit here amazed. Amazed at God. And feeling a little guilty. I think of all the people in West. I think of all the people in Oklahoma. What have I done to deserve this incredible blessing? I do not understand it. All I know is that I will serve the Lord with everything I have. I will not let a day go by without thanking him for every gift in my life, especially the gift of a home. And really, be it an apartment, an RV, or a house on houndmaster there are only 3 things I need to make a home: my Lord, Stephen and Wyatt. But, I am thankful that God provides more than we could ever wish or imagine and I get to move into a house where I can plant my gardens and have my parties. Praise the Lord, oh my soul, Praise the Lord.