Love this quote

Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man ... A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronised ... who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female ... Nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything [inferior] about woman's nature.
- Dorothy L. Sayers, from her book, Are Women Human?

107: Feeling Ambitious

Recently my housemate started this life coaching course. She said one of the things they encourage everyone to do is to have a list of at least 100 dreams. Seemed like a good idea to me.. so here goes!

1. Work for a nonprofit company doing good in the world.

2. Say and be told "I love you" every day

3. Say and be told "I miss you" from someone far away

4. Start wearing a toe ring again

5. Paint something I'm proud to have done

6. Go to Europe (England and France, specifically)

7. Cook dinner from scratch for a group of people

8. Live in an intentional community

9. Be friends with at least 3 of the same people in 20 years

10. Write a book, a more serious blog, a pamphlet.. something legit.

11. Sew a dress

12. Laugh every single day

13. Have a pic-nic with champagne

14. Grow a garden in the ground

15. Save someone's life

16. Take a photography or art class

17. Give myself a french pedicure

18. Go a year without purchasing any clothes

19. Take Kelsea out for sushi

20. Sing in public

21. At least pursue the thought of getting my master's degree

22. Read through the entire Bible

23. Go out on a sail boat

24. Keep a journal throughout my life

25. See an end to poverty and world hunger

26. See an end to war

27. Travel by mostly public transportation

28. Make a cheesecake

29. Come up with a list of 100 dreams

30. Read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

31. Spend an entire day outside

33. Own every Beatles album

34. Invent a great recipe

35. Learn more about computers

36. Compost all organic matter

37. Recycle everything else

38. Maintain my current weight or less (except for pregnancy, obviously)

39. Brighten a stranger's day

40. Pay back all of my student loans

41. Do a 40 day fast

42. Join a book club

43. Swim near a waterfall

44. Baby sit a young couple's kids for free

45. Renew our wedding vows after it gets tough

46. Have an art/worship/creation room in my home

47. Go to San Francisco

48. While there, visit MOMA

49. See Phantom of the Opera on Broadway

50. Live within walking distance of a library, coffee shop and park

51. Be part of a peaceful protest

52. Grow my own herbs and make my own tea

53. Ride a bicycle (I had a traumatic experience when I was 12 and haven't been on one since)

54. Dress up like someone from the 1920's

55. Watch the sun rise on the east coast

56. Watch the sun set on the west coast

57. Dance at an 80's club (and a 90's club, if those exist yet)

58. Solve a crime

59. Write to someone in prison

60. Help a village in a developing country become sustainable (clean water, farming and education system)

61. Go to Africa

62. Do a self-portrait (either painted or photographed)

63. Actually make the soundtrack of my life

64. Seriously look into adoption or foster care

65. Go to PAPA Fest

66. See the redwood forest

67. Worship at my darkest moment

68. Get one more tattoo

69. Become fluent in Spanish

70. Change an unjust law

71. Walk through a meadow barefoot and pick wildflowers

72. Go one week eating veggies only

73. Make a scrap book

74. Understand what fascism means

75. Volunteer regularly

76. Make ice cream

77. Buy Christmas presents for a low-income family

78. Spend at least one day exploring New York City

79. Learn how to tell time on a sundial

80. Ride a train

81. Read a biography about Mother Teresa

82. Read a biography about Mohatma Gandhi

83. Be an editor

84. Go backpacking

85. Go one day eating only things I've grown

86. Go on a trip by myself

87. Visit the Louvre

88. Tutor/mentor a child

89. Drink enough water every day

90. Spend a lot of quality time with my family (immediate- including all siblings and future)

91. Perform at least 5 random acts of kindness for complete strangers (clean their bathroom, buy their lunch, rake their lawn)

92. Walk on the water

93. Spend a day walking around a city enjoying the local businesses

94. Write letters to the people I love

95. Have used furniture and decorate it myself

96. Cover my house in local/self-made art

97. Not work 9-5 Monday though Friday in a cubicle

98. Go to a music festival

99. See the beauty in every moment and thank the Lord for it

100. Spend time in someone of a different culture's shoes.. or bare feet

101. Live in the downtown part of a city

102. Never complain again

103. Do a photo shoot

104. Have a big front porch

105. Celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary

106. Not take any person for granted

107. In 10, 20, 40 and 60 years, see how I’ve done on my list. And add to it.

So doing this ended up taking longer than I thought it would. And it challenged me. Made me hone in on what my priorities in this life are. I would encourage everyone to give it a try.

every plan is a tiny prayer to father time

My plan was to come to Redding for 9 months, get everything we needed and immediately jet back home to Florida.

That is probably not what is going to actually take place.

Bryon started talking about wanting to stay for second year pretty quickly. I was horrified. I told him there was absolutely no way. I maintained that stand for about 6 months. Then I decided to actually seek the Lord about it.

I woke up the next morning knowing that we were staying. I didn't hear God's voice, didn't even feel guided in a specific direction while I was praying. But I knew. But I did not share that with Bryon.

I started telling friends and family that we might stay.. that was the scariest part of this process for me. Literally, the day I told the last person I was worried about was the day God made it crystal clear.

I was sitting outside of a local coffee shop on the phone with said person. Then one of the other Bethel students, who I'd met but didn't really know, came up to me with a prophetic drawing. She felt like it was for me. This drawing is of a person standing in front of two mountains with the sun rising between them. The person has his/her arms up in praise. She wrote on the back that this is the valley of indecision, but there is joy in the mountain tops.

I freaked out.

This may sound like just a massive coincidence to you, but I'm positive that was God guiding me. Bryon picked me up a few minutes later and I told him to go ahead and apply for second year.

I'm not going to lie, there's a part of me that's hoping God was just testing me and Bryon won't get in. That's a pretty selfish desire, I know. Bryon will almost definitely get accepted.. he's doing really well here.

And God's plans, even when they are different than mine, are too good to pass up.