Gratis

Today was a heck of a day. We had to get what was left of our personal items out of the garage before we close on the sale of our house tomorrow morning.

When Lee and I arrived last night from Georgia, the task seemed very doable. After all, we had all day to do it. When we woke up this morning, it felt quite overwhelming.

But God delivered. After posting on a neighborhood website that everything must go, we had several people from in and around the community show up and help. One woman took a literal truck load of items, and it was such a blessing to give all these items away.

I think the microcosm of the lesson God had me learn through all this was evident with the collection of Coca Cola commemorative 6-packs I had, some for decades. When we first started the downsizing process, I thought I’d make a pretty penny off that collection. As time passed and no offers came in, I figured I’d try selling them at a later date. Today, I just had to laugh as I saw a complete stranger walk off with all of them for free. The thing is, he was doing me a favor. Also, He was doing me a favor by reminding me to stop focusing on stuff and keep focusing on Him.

We were in need and the Lord delivered a solution. We marched all night, and the Lord delivered victory. And you just can’t put a pricetag on that.

So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal.
Joshua 10:9 NASB

Another Step in the Journey

Lee and I made the drive from South Georgia to Tampa this afternoon. We’re scheduled to close on our house sale on Friday, so tomorrow will be a lot of last-minute tidying of miscellaneous garage items.

I saw this quote today from Jennifer Dulski, President & COO, Change.org.
The gist of it is that anything worth doing involves overcoming obstacles.

“The key to success is holding on to the belief that you’ll have more sunny days than cloudy ones and to just keep climbing, every day, no matter what. Great leaders not only keep climbing on both types of days but also inspire their teams to climb with them.”

Lee and I have a lot of little obstacles yet to overcome, from shipping our personal belongings to the D.R. to the laundry list of documents we need to complete in order to request residency once we’re there. But this biggest obstacle, one that has been a relative thorn in our side for months, is almost done.

I thank God for His faithfulness and for the lessons He’s taught me during this season. Looking back, they were indeed lessons I needed to learn.

Hotline to God

Lee and I met this afternoon with Pastor David Rogers of CrossPointe Church in Valdosta. CrossPointe has been our church home these last several months as we’ve been residing in Hahira, GA, while we waited for our house to sell. The house sale is the last, big obstacle in our preparation to move to the Dominican Republic, and we were explaining this to Pastor David in our meeting.

I told David I trust God, but I’ve been reluctant to assume everything will be fine with our June 5 closing date because anything can happen. At the conclusion of our meeting, Pastor David prayed over us, and he specifically asked God to bless our calling and ensure a successful closing on our house.

Lee and I left the meeting and headed to our next appointment. It was during that drive that we received an email from our title company stating the buyers had requested we move the closing date to June 1 (this Friday!!!). After scrambling to make arrangements, we agreed to the new date. However, I honestly feel it was God immediately answering Pastor David’s prayer for us.

God is amazing and faithful and awesome!

Memorial Day

Thank you to all the service women and men who gave their lives in defense of our country. 

Underway

Our prayer is to move to the Dominican Republic on July 1. As of right now, everything is on track for us to meet that date. As a result, Lee and I begin the packing process in earnest. From sorting among piles for store, ship, donate, and trash, we began getting everything in order for this next chapter in our lives.

It’s getting more and more real every day. #YayGod

Catfish and Movies

We had a great time today celebrating the graduation of Jeff and Lindsey’s neighbor’s son Garrett. We did so at the oft-recommended Ray’s Millpond Cafe, and the food was oh-so-good.

Upon returning home, we were a bit too stuffed to want to be productive, so instead we opted to pass the afternoon watching movies. And the movies did not disappoint. We started with the comedy Game Night and then pivoted genres to the more dramatic The Post. Both were fun and entertaining films, and it was a very good, chill evening.

 

Eye Kid You Not

So I was clearing some of the trails on which we go four-wheeling at Jeff and Lindey’s property, and I came across some brush that needed to be trimmed out of the way. Given it was earlier in the day and I was under canopy, I took off my prescription sunglasses so I could see more clearly in the shade (I am near-sighted and have no problems seeing things up close).

The first couple of branches I cleared were no problem, but then I snipped one that I had not realized was bent backward under the rest of the brush. As you may have guessed, that limb came rocketing at me and poke me right in the eye.

Long story short, Lee drove me to the eye doctor and he confirmed I have a scratched cornea. Actually, he said it was more of a gouge than a scratch. So for the next couple of days, I have to undergo a remedy of eye drops and eye ointment. The problem is … I DESPISE having to put stuff in my eyes.

So for the next several days, I will be like Rachel from Friends. Wish me luck.

Solo!

I grew up on Star Wars. The original trilogy is embedded in my childhood, and the entire saga as a whole is part of my personality DNA. I know we don’t talk about the prequels, but start to finish, from Episodes I through VIII – and including Rogue One – Star Wars in many ways makes up who I am.

So imagine my excitement as Lee and I sat down this evening to watch the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story. It is the origin story of everyone’s favorite scoundrel Han Solo, and screenwriters Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan do an exceptional job both telling the tale of how Han became Han *and* staying true to the elements of the original trilogy (hear that, Rian Johnson?)

For those not familiar with the elder Kasdan, Lawrence wrote the screenplays for The Empire Strikes Back (SW Episode V) and Return of the Jedi (SW Episode VI). To say he is intimately familiar with the character of Han Solo is an understatement, and he and his son Jonathan bring to life the telling of how a young man from the planet Corellia came to be such an influential player in the rebellion against the empire.

Then there is the brilliant directing by Ron Howard who salvaged the project after the original directors were let go. Howard applied his personal touch to the film while giving nod after nod after nod to the foundational material that is the Star Wars saga. The acting by all involved was great (Alden Ehrenreich is surprisingly phenomenal as Han), and the finished product is, to me, the best Star Wars film after Empire. It’s simply superb. 

Personally, it completed a part of my childhood I did not know was missing. But seeing how Han met Chewie, how Han won the Millenium Falcon from Lando Calrissian, and to see Han and Chewie pilot the Falcon together for the first time; it all brought a tear to my eye.

I loved the movie and I can’t wait to see it again. As giddy as I was these last several weeks for Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2, Solo: A Star Wars Movie made me feel like a kid again. And isn’t that why we go to the movies in the first place?

ENOUGH!

It breaks my heart that yet AGAIN our country is mourning the tragedy of a school shooting. We’ll once again press through the news cycles, the rhetoric, the “thoughts and prayers”, and in the end, nothing will change.

It’s tragic that so many Americans may become numb to the experience of gun violence, both in our schools (specifically) and in our streets (in general). I have no words. Just heartfelt sadness and a prayer for real, sensible change in the near future.

The Best Medicine

Following the passing of my uncle yesterday, it felt strange going to the movies tonight. However, we bought our tickets to see Deadpool 2 last week, and I mourned my uncle’s death in earnest last night. Besides, if laughter is the best medicine, then what better place to be than the premiere of DP2?

The movie was great. It started with a surprising twist and the action and intrigue paced the movie from start to finish. Perhaps not quite up to the standard set by the first Deadpool movie, but overall DP2 does not disappoint.

And the laughing helped. After a long day in which I spent way too much time at the neurologist’s office (I had to follow-up given the results of last month’s MRI), my heart was still somewhat heavy and my thought process was all over the place.

It was a heavy day and it was nice to finish in a light-hearted way.