Churning my brain between chores...

Today is one of those "mixed bag" Saturdays. We've isolated about ten big things to accomplish, and have maybe enough time to tackle three or four. So we'll probably end up doing a small portion of maybe 15!

One recurring theme all day - for me - will be playing with my new camera. Yes, birthday money finally tipped my "camera savings stash" over the edge and I purchased my Nikon D-3100. I've been putting money aside for the past few months and trying to decide between three or four potential candidates. I went with the Nikon because I'm familiar with the brand and that's going to help my (slow) technical learning curve. I'm already saving for the compact telephoto....

One big change will be shooting at 14 mega-pixels. So I'm looking into photo storage in "The Cloud" so I don't overburden my hard drive with images.

But it all takes time and time is not something I'm exactly flush with at the moment!

Another priority today is emptying two rooms of furniture, pulling up the carpets and doing some painting in anticipation of Thursday's new carpet install.

Then there's the yard! Yes, we have shifted our focus to more of a maintenance mode. Or, as Rebekah put it, "We've given the garden back to God!" But there's still a lot to do out there, and it's all growing like crazy again now we've had the good rain.

Serendipity:
One huge serendipity was supper in South Tampa last night with an old friend from Pensacola. Blaine John was one of the youth (middle-school) when we arrived at Trinity Presbyterian in 1982. His family were an important part of church life, and Blaine was one of those young adults (it happens all the time) who found his future completely re-written because he went on a mission trip (Africa).

Today Blaine is a specialist in pediatric cardiology; a specialist with sub-specialties - if I remember correctly - in neo-natology. Blaine and his lovely wife, Jennifer, met us at "Bin 27", one of those remarkably flavorful bistro-type restaurants where everything is just a little bit better than awesome! She's an OT therapist, and they have three beautiful children.

Blaine and his family are making a positive difference in the world - they're doing positive, critically important, work, and they're raising some great kids. It is very good to see people grow up to engage their full potential. I've seen a lot of that in the past couple of weeks, and the stories I'm listening to give me a lot of hope.

I honestly believe that most of the issues that conspire to make the world such an unstable place at the moment would be largely resolved if people would simply embrace the fullness of life we were designed to experience, to live as if hope and promise and redemption were not only possible but a present reality.

My humanist friends would argue that all I'm talking about is a quality resident in all people, and that releasing human potential is a matter of social evolution. I wouldn't argue with the idea that we're all capable of so much more, and that growth is always possible. But, I also believe that the spiritual aspect of what it means to be human cannot be ignored if we want to live complete lives. It's not optional, and it's not "after market", because the spiritual element was created as an essential part of who we are. Spirit is fundamental, and involving God in our redemption turns out to be the most natural thing in the world.....

Just churning my brain between chores on a Saturday -
- Grace and Peace - DEREK