Home.

Being a Kansas girl through and through (no bother that I was born in Iowa before my parents returned home to Wichita), I have always loved the cliche Wizard of Oz quote, "There's no place like home." Because it's true. There is no place like home. There are fewer places in all the world I'd rather be than in my parent's home...and I've been blessed to do my fair share of traveling (see previous post for reference). I'd probably choose an extended trip with the family somewhere fun (maybe Alaska or Hawaii to finish out our 50 states goal), but I'd still look forward to the familiarity of our home. I guess because it is safe there. And bursting with love. And comfort. That is what my parents have made our home- a haven. I "left" home and headed off to college when I was 18. I'm 30 now. Yes, there were summers I was back, but for the most part, I've been gone. But...I still call it my home. Why? Because life there is sweeter. And the memories are dearer. And the laughs are harder. And the love is purer.

I also love the cliche saying, "Home is where the heart is." I remember feeling this way when Andrew and I were dating. He had my heart and it was overflowing with love and comfortable. Just like home. Andrew and I have realized that we might not always have the luxury of living near family or even close enough to make an unexpected trip home because of difficult circumstances. But, when we are together, we are "home." We have no idea if we will ever have a permanent house of our own because we are not quite sure what the Lord has in store for us. But we will always have a home. Because that's where our hearts are. And there's no place like it.

One of my favorite songs is Feels Like Home and the lyrics simply say, "It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me. It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from. It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me. It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong." This song reminds me of my best friend, Crystal, because it was on a CD that she used to play when we lived in our town house during college. Her friendship is like home to me. It's real. And comfortable. And full of love.

Home also reminds me of heaven. Both of my dear Grandmas lost their battle with breast cancer and "went home." I miss them terribly. There are so many reasons, but mostly because they made home sweeter. They epitomized the saying, "Home, Sweet Home." They were amazing women of faith who I try to emulate. I fail miserably at that. I long to be like them, and can't wait to be home with them. Heaven must be the sweetest place we could ever dream of being...Home.

Road Trip.

One of my favorite things to do is travel. Growing up, my parents gave us (my two brothers and me) one of the greatest experiences a child could have (in my opinion)...we traveled. A lot. Here's a list for perspective:
-All 48 continental US states
-Mexico
-Canada
-Israel (and Jordan)
And one of our most treasured feats is visiting:
-All 30 Major League Baseball Stadiums (a few have since been rebuilt)

And, I have done more international traveling:
-Ecuador (Missions trip in 2005)
-Thailand (lived there during the summer of 2005 after the Tsunami)
-Indonesia (visited in 2005 during my time in Thailand)
-Burma (my mom and I went in 2006 and did a women's retreat)
-Bahamas (our honeymoon)

I love traveling. I love having a date on the calendar to look forward to. I love getting everything perfectly folded and placed in my suitcase. I love the memories that traveling allows. I love flying. I love sleeping in the car. I love eating at new places or places I love but we don't have near us. I just love it all. But, I do love coming home, too. It's just the overall experience that thrills my soul.

This past week, we made a road trip..."we" being Andrew, Sybil (my mother-in-law), and myself. We packed our bags and hit the road for Louisiana to visit Andrew's sister's family. Both of Andrew's parents are from Louisiana so, since 2007, this state has been a frequent road trip locale. I will confess, Louisiana has had to grow on me...I didn't love it, at first. But I do love to see family, so I always look forward to that aspect. And this trip included a new city which made the trip even more exciting!

We arrived to Mandeville on Friday night and were reunited with our family, including our nieces who we affectionately call our "Southern Belles" (Isabelle, Annabelle, and Mirabelle). On Saturday, we caravanned over to Baton Rouge (said "new city") for a swim meet. It was the first time I had seen the LSU campus, and it was impressive. The swim meet was exciting/crowded/noisy. But it was fun to cheer on our little competitor. We stayed in a great hotel and ate at some delicious restaurants. Oh, and shopped at some of my favorite stores- J. Crew and Anthropologie. I found some GREAT deals...which is one of my very favorite things to do! It was such a fun trip! The only negative is that we were on the go so much we didn't have a lot of time to just sit and visit.

Being with family IS my very favorite thing to do. I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to go see our family and enjoy being together...it was a visit long overdue. I am so thankful the Lord has given us genuine love for each other. And although I wish they lived closer, I still love a good road trip, and this was a GREAT one!

Realist.

I like to think of myself as a realist. My husband calls me a pessimist. We are basically the same as my parents in this aspect which I love. My dad is the eternal optimist. Seriously. Which is why he is the best pastor. He always sees the glass as full. Andrew always sees the glass as (at least) half full, sometimes completely full. The fact that he was so similar to my dad in this regard is one of the things that immediately attracted me to him.

I am a lot like my dad in a lot of ways, but so like my mom in this category of being a realist, as I like to call it. My mom, although not a categorical optimist, is one of the most thoughtful and encouraging people on the planet. She sends out birthday cards to every. single. person. in our church. She sends sympathy cards to people she hasn't seen in years. She sends notes of encouragement to ladies who are hurting. She sends thank-you notes for every gift she receives, big or small. She has modeled before me what it means to trust God's plan, even though it doesn't make sense. I appreciate these things I've learned from my mom.

So I am not a dreamer and I don't always focus on the silver lining. But, the reality of the situation is, God is good. I have a hard time focusing on this truth. I tend to ask the questions, "why me?" "why us?" "why not us?" when it appears as though God's favor is being poured out lavishly on others while we sit here searching desperately for a job and direction for Andrew. I get discouraged. A lot. But then I am reminded by the optimists in my life of God's goodness. The things that we have been blessed with are outrageous. We have parents who support us and love us in too many ways to list. We have a roof over our head. And cars to drive. And iPads. And iPhones. And more shoes than will fit in my closet. And on and on. And even though I have health problems that can be overwhelming at times, I'm not dying. I could choose to be pessimistic about why we are where we are. Or I can choose to be realistic about how blessed we are.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. (Psalm 27:13, 14 KJV) I am choosing to claim these verses. Patience is not my favorite, but His Word is true, and I will wait.

If the Lord brings us to your mind, please pray this for us. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV)