Saturday, March 28, 2009

Yesterday was a very full day for us. The first part of the day was spent frantically trying to get our house ready to receive company--Linnea's half-sister, Lindsey, from Montana. Everyone was excited (and nervous) to meet her, and Linnea stood looking out the front door window watching for her for about an hour straight. She called at around 1:30 p.m. and said she was lost, so Linnea and I (with Rebecca and Megan in the back seat) went to go find her and have her follow us home.

I have to say... So many of the modern Christians I meet seem stuffy, pretentious and walled-up, and so many of the postmodern Christians I meet seem authentic, down-to-earth, easy to get to know, and comfortable to be around. Lindsey is just like that. She's a tree-hugger, no doubt, but you know what? So am I! So is Linnea. Lindsey fits right in.

Yesterday's adventures:

I was finally able to get posted the rest of the portions of the book "Story" that most profoundly impacted me. It took a while, but I've been wanting to go it for ages and I'm glad it's done now, preserved in an easily accessible format for myself, my family, and anyone else who may be interested in reading them. (see my blog "Echoes.") Thank You, Lord! I also received a couple of emails from a dear friend regarding something she's concerned about in my life, and I truly appreciate that. I haven't had time to thoughtfully read those emails and respond yet, but I hope to today or sometime soon.

Lindsey and Linnea took a year's worth of glass to the Valley Transfer Station yesterday afternoon, and my mom and Megan took the bus for the very first time to the Valley Mall where they window shopped, tried on clothes, and shared a meal which they paid for mostly with change out of my mom's purse. My mom said the two oriental ladies who helped them were chattering to each other frantically in another language, and she said she didn't think she would have wanted to understand what they were saying. Probably something about the inconvenience, or down-right rudeness, of people paying with change. But change is money all the same, and I hope they got over whatever negative emotions they were feeling, if they were indeed feeling any.

From 8:30 to 9:30 last night, we participated in Earth Hour. I work for the City, and the Mayor suggested that a message be sent to all City employees participate in this worth-while event, if possible. So we sat around our table, turned off every non-essential electronic device in the house, and I read my family a chapter out of "Adventures in Missing the Point," called "Missing the Point: Environmentalism." Then I read them 3 or 4 short stories out of the first book of the "Encyclopedia Brown" series. It was so much fun! We were glad to have the lights back on after that hour, though. The little ones were quite restless by the end.

All-in-all, it was a good day. Good is good.