Currently - October 2015

Things I am currently:

Obsessing over,
Working on, 
Thinking about, 
Anticipating, 
Listening to,
Eating,
Praying for,
Reading,

Remembering, Happy about.  

1. I am currently obsessing over:

• The ten people I've been praying for all month. Haha. Not sure why October was the month I went mental about praying for them, but there you go. Ten people; five male, five female. Ten people; none married, all living in different cities. Ten people; almost all not related to me. Some know me. Some don't. Haha. God's will is so getting done in their lives. 
• My wastefulness. I'm sure I'm the only one on the planet who spends money on groceries she's intending to eat, and then never does. I have such good intentions in the produce aisle. 

2. I am currently working on:

• Learning about new processes for project management at work. The system I've been using for print projects is fine, but I could use some help keeping things on track for other creative endeavours. 
• Filling my pinterest boards with exercise-at-home links. Because me getting to a gym, or even just walking hills, is not happening. Next, I'll work on reading and applying them. Haha. 
• Culling my photos. Seriously. I need to delete at least half of them. Probably more. No one needs this many sunset photos on their hard drive. No one. 
• I am working on making a few appointments... dentist. And eye doctor. And mammogram. And more blood tests. 

3. I am thinking about:

• The last sermon I heard. (By Jeff. Last night at Northview. If you had one week left to live, what would you do? What would you say? And to whom? Those last days ... you would live very intentionally, yes?)
• The last Public Salon speeches I listened to. (On Wednesday night, in Vancouver. At the Playhouse. Especially the ones about homelessness, getting stuff done, and the role of art in our world.)
• And this thought brought about by my weekend of binge watching all 16 episodes (as well as the special features) of Outlander - the TV series, while also reading Book 8 of the Outlander series... 

Diana has created a world. And characters. These are her books which are the result of her imagination. She thinks something up then writes it down. 

She puts her characters and situations together BY CHOICE. She weaves together storylines that start in Book 1 that may or may not extend to Book 8. And some characters? Get their own book series, and star in their own books - not everyone exists just to be in Jamie and Claire's orbits...

And some characters/situations that are part of Book 1, (but never heard of again), are revived years later... because she doesn't insert people or places accidentally. Each person is there, for a purpose, by her design. She doesn't create a character and then forget about them. They still have a role to play, it just might not come to pass until years (or books) later.

If it happened, (it being anything) she meant for it to. She planned it. She knows there will be consequences and repercussions and ripples of impact that will affect the future in a slight or significant way. 

This truth hit me hard on the head last night just before I fell asleep. I'd just watched the end of Season One and picked up Book 8 to read in bed - and I could see her (Diana Gabaldon's) hand at work, knitting the stories of the people she created together into a masterpiece. Like God. 

Haha. Just like God.

He didn't create individuals and then forget about them. If He made you, He has a purpose for you. Our storylines aren't random. He is the author of The Story. Our stories. My story. 

People/characters who enter into my life aren't there by chance. He made it happen. For some divine purpose. 

I can live with that.

4. I am anticipating:

• a good November. Traditionally this is the month that sets me on a downward spiral until January 4 or 5. I'm not the only one... I've got quite a few friends who are being very proactive about the blues that hit them this month; most will be in Palm Springs or some other sunshine state. I'm mostly out of vacation days, so I won't be escaping to some exotic location. But I do have some fun plans:
• a Canuck's game
• Max's birthday dinner
• The symphony
• coffee dates with girl friends
• movies
• a read-a-thon at the lake
• a bake-off with my kids
• finishing Book 8 (of the Outlander series.)
• posting more pics to my Instagram account - because this makes me happy
• hosting a craft night
• and a 'let's clean up our photo files' night. COME ON, you know that would be fun!
• a facial; I've had two in my life. November might be a good month to have another one
• I am anticipating that I will not do any Christmas shopping this month. Or Christmas decorating. Or listening to Christmas music. 

5. I am listening to:

• Some new songs, thanks to a few Facebook friends who recommended the tunes they were currently listening to:

Plus the Outlander opening credits song:

6. I am eating:

• Urghhh. I didn't try anything new this month. I am going to have to work on that for next month. It'll probably be beets.

7. I am praying for:

• My ten. It feels wrong to refer to them as 'my ten' to God. Like, I say all their names individually, then imagine where they are at that exact moment each time (like 100 times a day) so He doesn't think I'm being lazy. 
• On my heart and mind, this month, more than most, are those who are struggling with addiction issues. Most specifically, alcohol. God help them. And those who love and live with them. 
• Four churches, each in a different city, each a different denomination, and the leadership at each of them.
• Anyone/everyone who's asked me to pray.
• Folks who are grieving because of broken relationships/divorce/death. Oy. So much sadness. 
• The entertainment industry. 
• Friends who are un/under employed. 
• Christmas
• My kids. My friends' kids. My kids' friends.
• My place of employment, the team I'm apart of, the work we do. 

8. I am reading:

• Book 8 of the Outlander series.
• The latest Rainbow Rowel book.
• Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

9. I am remembering/happy about:

• Happy memories of our trip to Arizona - seeing the Grand Canyon, walking/hiking/sightseeing in Sedona and relaxing in Phoenix. A great trip despite the cloudiness during the last half of the week. 
• Thanksgiving, a week late, an at the end of a long travel day, was perfect. I love my family. 
• I am remembering Halloween's of the past. And while I'm sad that my days of hosting big parties are over, I guess I was OK with the quiet evening that I had instead. Haha. From Halloweens with 100 people at the farm to me sitting in the basement binge watching TV. Some traditions aren't meant to go on indefinitely... and I guess Halloween parties, hosted by me, was one of those things. 
• October was a busy month at work. November will be busier. So my days have not been boring. I'm happy for that. 
• And while this didn't happen in October, it happened tonight... it makes me happy. Drew and Danica popped in at 5:30, after the church service they attended in my neighbourhood. They stuck around all evening and we played Phase 10 with Mandi. And I won. Haha. I would have been happy even if I'd lost, because winning never matters to me. I just love hanging out with my people. :)

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Drew got the thermostat working again. Phew. There will be heat the next time I go. 

2. Post it notes. Calendars. Fine point pens. Office supplies, basically.

3. Leftover Halloween candy. 

Shalom,

xo