Wednesday, September 14, 2011

a blink...

Today a good friend died suddenly of a heart attack.

Not only was he a good friend to me, but he was intricately involved in the company I work for and mixed in the life of my boss and his family. The loss of Steve will be profoundly felt all around Clackamas County.

The one thing on my mind as I attempted to absorb the news was how quickly... how quickly...

Life passes in a blink. One moment you can be chatting and going about your business, very busy and focused, very determined and project oriented. The next could find your tires squealing as you race to the scene... paramedics and hospitals and ... gone.

Who to trust? Where to lean? Where is your hope?

Steve is in heaven, thrilled and fully content. All thanks to a moment in which he stopped to consider the future. All thanks to walking every day following that moment fully convinced that the redemptive God who had saved him had put him on earth for the purpose of His glory, and while flawed and still living on earth, still passionately served and loved that God who was Just and Right and True.

In my heart and mind I struggle with grief, but in my soul I believe, and rest.
So, hey there God, enjoy Steve, he was a faithful husband, father and friend, and he is surely missed. I can't wait to see him again, someday. Thanks for the special gift you gave Amanda, by allowing her father to walk her down the aisle last Friday night. Thanks also for being the rock which Chris can cling to as she walks through the next days and weeks with Hannah still home and still in need of a daddy... I know you will take good care of them, that is one of your specialties...

Monday, September 12, 2011

small spaces - lesson two

In This Episode...

You will find out, when you attempt to purge and rearrange, that it is exhausting and time consuming work. However, the thrill of the finish (or the semi finished state, as we will talk about in a moment) is quite rejuvenating.

We were able to essentially flip our house over the course of two weekends and the week in the middle; moving all of the furniture in three complete rooms to allow everything to fit and be more usefully arranged. Boy, was it a lot of work! And of course, it was was extra work due to the stuff we had allowed to accumulate in every corner and cranny. Of the three rooms, only one is considered "done" - the one belonging to our youngest daughter - and really that is only due to the tiny size of the space!

My room is about 80% complete. There was an 8' long existing bookcase on the wall of the "room" which contained a plethora of books and also housed our liquor cabinet.  I haven't even attempted to touch the bookcase or any of its contents yet - but I am thrilled with the new room! I think the most fantastic thing about it is the absolute lack of space for clutter. I have a single bench which I throw magazines on and a chair which also has magazines (strange, eh?) but all of them are from the library and other than that, the room is very simple and clean. I will try to take some pictures but the lighting is very low and they aren't easy to take.

The "girl room" is about 80% complete as well. There is an entire closet of "we once were little girls" which I have to pile through and dispose of, and I suppose that is hard for me to do as I haven't even started it yet. How strange it is when your children move from childhood to being teenagers - how quickly they stop playing with their awesome toys and start just piling up the clothes and other "girly stuff"

You could say that our living room is complete - we didn't set out to work on it but I don't believe it will change until something wild and crazy happens... therefore, its probably our finest work and done!

Just to show that we aren't all spartan and clutter free, I have some photos of our "office" which is the final room in the house for this project, and it is a veritable disaster!

All photos tomorrow -