New House Rule

OK. New house rule.
Only one room of the house may regurgitate its contents at a time.

A friend got a new fridge and Beloved agreed to take the old one off their hands. Great plan. So a really nice fridge was delivered yesterday. Beloved and our neighbor wrestled it inside and this morning we began the process of transferring all our cold edibles from the old large box to the new pretty one. However, in order to have room to accomplish this grand feat, the kitchen had to relinquish a good portion of its contents to the dining room and the living room. No problem. It’s just for a day or so at most, right?

Almost bedtime last night and DD4 calls out, “Mom, can you come look at this?” I answer the summons and she points to the ceiling in her room. “I don’t think it’s supposed to look like that,” she says. I look up and have to agree. Ceilings should be white and flat, not bulging and discolored. She summons her dad, who agrees that no, it should not look like that. However, there is nothing that any of us can do at the moment so we all go off to bed.

This morning I woke up thinking we should probably move her out of her room since there is no way to know how big this ceiling problem could be or how soon it may cave in. Well, as it turns out DD4 decided to move some of her stuff into another room last night - just in case. This seems particularly prudent since there is now a large crack in the ceiling that wasn’t there when I saw it last night. So, room # 2 is now tossing its contents all over the house. Into the office, the spare room, the main bathroom, the living room. Oh, my. And who knows how long this repair project will take.

Now the Christmas tree must come down early to make room for her computer so it's not ruined in the demolition process. Which is the equivalent of a third room ejecting its contents into the livingroom/dining room area.

I’m barricading my bedroom door.

Number seven for 2006

We will be attending our last funeral of the year before the week is out. This will be the seventh dear one that we have lost this year. I realize that death is not anyone's favorite topic, mine included. The problem is that it keeps inserting itself into my life. I could write a lot of stuff on this topic including some really great rants. But for today I will simply mourn with those who mourn.
In memory of some really special people.

James Jones
Bill Bubb
Jess Henson
Hank Hinton
Diane Henderson
Charles Ponder
Lavon Ratcliffe

They are all greatly loved, sorely missed and not forgotten.

Change

I am truly impressed with all the folks who managed to blog in December. Actually I am impressed with everyone who manages to blog on a regular basis in ANY month. When I got online this morning to se if my blog was even still here, I found a draft that I had written on Nov 30. I submit it now while I try to catch a thought before the year ends.

Ever feel like you're on a runaway train? Or a passenger on the bus in the Speed movie? October just ended yesterday and before I could recover from the insanity it brought, November is gone. How does this happen? Is the universe on fast forward? Maybe it's just me. In perpetual high speed and the constant state of transition, or confusion, or both.I don't react well to change. Or quickly. Give me some time to think things over and I can come around to convincing myself that change can be a good thing. Just not right now. Maybe in a few minutes, or a couple of hours. Perhaps in a few days or sometime next week. How about after the first of the year? Yes, we can discuss change then. You say it's only February? Well, so much the better.
Problem is, I live in the wrong century to avoid change. It is relentless in it's continual flood of our world. As soon as I buy a product it is obsolete. The news that I heard this morning is irrelevant by evening. Even scienftific studies and medical breakthroughs are old news in an unbelievably short span of time. Change has conquered and the old is banished while the new is celebrated. For about 10 minutes. Then it becomes old too.
Change is not all bad and even some that looks bad initially can eventually be shown to have some redeeming qualities. The issue isn't really whether it is good or bad but simply that it must be dealt with. C0nstantly. And dealing with change is tiring. The worst part is that the time that it takes to deal with change is time taken away from other, more important things. Things like spending time with people you care about or helping others who need it. Perhaps just taking time to enjoy God's creation and marvel at the works of His hands.
I am so grateful that in all of this change one thing stands steady:

" Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. "

Hebrews 13:8