Running Late

The Brewers drop two in a row to the Nationals (basically they played the worst team in baseball by acting as if they were the worst team in baseball) and yet I'm in this good of a mood this morning? That can only mean one thing. Since I'm not in love, I must be writing. I've been typing up the pages I wrote in the last week and decided to do more of that while I ate breakfast today. As I typed, one moment in the narrative jumped out at me as ideal for a little further character development. The writer in me woke up and all else faded from conciousness. Twenty-five minutes later, the tiny digital clock in the corner of the screen catches my eye and I realize I'm going to be late for work! Oops! It's hard to scold myself being carried away when I was carried to exactly where I wanted to be... and wanted to stay.

Decisions

I've decided to grow my hair long again. I've only had this short, angled bob for a few months, but I miss my long hair so much. It's not as easy a decision as you might think since I've received far more compliments on this haircut than any other one I've ever had. No bragging involved here; it's really just served to make me wonder how bad my previous styles have been. So am I foolish to grow it out again? Maybe. But I don't feel like me with this haircut, so it has to go.

I've decided I will go hiking this Sunday after early Mass. This is contingent on whether or not my friend comes to visit for the weekend. If she does, then you can disregard this paragraph because all weekend hours will be spent with her. In lieu of a visit from her though, I will take advantage of the "scattered showers and thunderstorms" free forecast by hiking.

I've decided to downsize my CD collection. As I flipped through my folders of CDs a few days ago, I realized how many albums I only listen to on my laptop or iPod now, no longer pulling the physical disc out of the folder to take in my car or put in the stereo. That means plenty of them could go. I'm sure Half Price Books will give me a few bucks for them, but the greater incentive is the space I will then have in the folders for new ones... because there will always be new ones needed.

I've decided that by the time my hair has grown past my shoulders, I'll have lost a notable number of pounds. This gives me plenty of time in which to improve my eating habits and amp up the workouts since this head of hair grows slower than a bonsai tree. 3.3 lost of the total goal (which I won't disclose here but will say that 3.3 is the merest fraction of it).

I've decided I like raspberries very much. This did not used to be the case.

Not-So-Daily Update

The daily reporting of writing progress doesn't seem to be happening. But I can sum up the last few days for you: chapter five finished. Yessiree, I wrote the latter half of chapter four and all of chapter five over the weekend.

Still no word from Moody Publishing on their decision about Full of Days. "Patience and fortitude conquer all things," according to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Can you guarantee that for me, Mr. Emerson? Even the chasm between the Land of Dreaming and the Land of Publication?

How Beautiful Is This Song?!

I'm admittedly biased because I love Sean, but really, how beautiful is this song!

The Sweetest Remembrance

Sometimes it just hits me, how much God loves me, how amazing is the gift of salvation. There are moments of grasping comprehension when the joy of it, the thrill of it, sinks in and knocks my inner self off her feet. I do take it for granted most hours of most days. I can't seem to help it. In some ways it is a good sign, for the taking for granted hasn't resulted in negligence. I am not leaving the gift by the wayside just because I'm not conciously thinking about carrying it with me. Rather, I've settled into the regular pursuit of Heaven, nestled into that lifestyle so that I am at home in it. Occasionally though, I am startled by something - it's never the same thing twice. A story I'm reading, a song I'm hearing, a smile in someone's eyes, a glimpse of love between two persons, a horizon of water and sunshine, a flash of hopefulness, or a dozen other things; something occurs in that instant and the awe overwhelms all other matters on my mind and burdens on my heart. For one powerful moment, there is nothing else. Nothing, except the life changing awareness of the gift of my Savior's love. Saved. Saved. I am always capable of forsaking the gift, of choosing to leave it behind by my sin, and yet it is there. It is offered. It is paid for by His blood and presented to me by His hand. Those are the instances of happiness, when I know without doubt that I belong to Him and whatever else comes, it cannot mean more than His possession of my heart, mind and will. It is that which I must remember even if I forget all else.