Ps. 123:2
The first six months of 2015 have marched past. When I asked Pete how I should reflect on this farewell to half a year, he said, "Well, half the year is still to come." And indeed he's right. As much time as we've drained from the year so far, the same amount also remains. The glass is half-full, still six months of year left to drink.
The reason I started this blog originally, some 26 weeks ago, was to chronicle our year and mark time in weekly stretches, creating pit stops along the trail. Since then I've begun to have a slightly more outward focus. Having gained more readership than I might have guessed (thanks, guys), I've tried to be a little broader in my discussions, rather than the Dear Diary approach. Still, I see value in a mundane update every now and then. In the spirit of cataloging a week that straddles both halves of the year, here's what life brought us this week:
I made no-churn blackberry chocolate chip ice cream. No ice-cream maker required! It was easy to make and though the texture is pretty hard (now that it's completely frozen, I have to slice out servings with a knife), it's delicious. I have lots of ideas for more flavors!
We didn't win the free roof. It was more disappointing for both of us than we'd expected. We know it was disappointing for all of you too, who shared our excitement about potentially winning. It might not be obvious right away, but we are confident that winning the roof would have been ultimately worse for us than losing. Perhaps, in winning, our marriage would have suffered, or our faith would have been weakened, or our pride would have swelled. And perhaps in our current search for an affordable roof to buy, we will encounter people or situations that will strengthen our faith or the faith of others, will give opportunities to show Christ's love, or will break down our confidence in ourselves. Besides, Pete says, there are more losers than winners in the whole course of history, and we like to be on the side of the majority.
Pete and his brother put up the new ceiling in the den. Finally, I can sit in the den watching Roku or reading without being afraid that rats will scamper out of the gaping holes in the ceiling and onto my lap. It's an enormous improvement and the room is fast becoming my favorite place in the house.
I made pickles. Amazingly, though I'd never done any canning on my own before, they were pretty good!
We celebrated more than 20 years of family reunions with the extended Dowdy family. It is truly a sweet gift to be part of this family. These are just some of the cousins, the fourth (or fifth, if you count the original parents) generation of Dowdys. Though none of us bear the name (the four Dowdy sisters all married and passed along married names to us), we share a common heritage of faith that binds us more tightly than any shared last name could.
I started reading Les Miserables. It's been on my list since seeing the film version of the musical a few years ago, and this week I took the plunge. I'm almost 100 pages in (it's over 1200 pages) and it's fantastic. I actually just ordered myself a copy of my own so I don't have to worry about library fines. And so I can underline passages I like. This will be a long literary journey and I'm excited about it.
Now, I'm taking a deep breath before diving into the second half of 2015. It's starting with a flurry of busyness for the next few weeks and I'm bracing myself for it. Coping strategies will include: easy dinner plans, no pressure on myself to keep the house clean, and brief times of intentional rest. How do you combat a busy week? What's the calm in your storm?
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