time to drop seashells

One more week left of break! The roommates(- Mandy) arrive Tuesday. Is it really time to go back already?? This break has flown by.

Just had warm gooey brownies & fritos dipped in queso & my second mug of pomegranate tea (the first one being after my walk in the misty night air with Lucy, Clint, and his new dog Scooter).

Lucy is wandering around smelling and barking after her doggie visitor today. She's trying to get up on the counter to get food. She's being kind of sketchy.

The 'rents are watching a dvd of 24, don't know what season. Mom's on the recliner, dad's on the couch, just about recovered from a really bad cold he had when his kiddos were on our church retreat. Nate's got friends over; I can hear them laughing and being boys as they play video games. Glad to hear them having fun; it's just what little buddy needs after his break-up - quality time with the boys. Friends have a way of fixing things.

Lu is wandering around, still being sketchy. Ha! I just caught her trying to open my door to go pee on my carpet (she likes to do that in my room for some reason). I've had to keep a baricade in front of the door all break, no joke.

And me, I get the night to read. I am reading Celebration of Discipline and it's really good. I also got a new Bible. It's a mini Bible with large print (aw I'm getting oldddd) and a celtic cross on the front. It feels good in my hands and is a different translation than I'm used to. Hard to find somewhere quiet in this house; maybe I'll go out on the porch.

I really wanted to type up the lessons I learned at Breakthru BUT I CAN'T FIND MY JOURNAL (I also can't find my pink tweazers I've had since senior year of high school or my phone charger..gahhh gotta be more diligent about these kind of things! I take my pink ring off when I shower, work out, or wash my hands and am really worried I'm going to lay it down somewhere..hmm..). It'll make a pretty good read whoever finds it - some good Bible verses, some desperate heartfelt prayers, a hopeless romantic daydreaming about her beloved boyfriend. Journal, where are you...

I can remember one of the lessons from Breakthru off the top of my head. It's about seashells and starfish.

Rob Bell, a great modern Christian author, tells a story about being out on the beach with his son who is gathering seashells. His son is picking up seashells when he spots a starfish. He runs out to get it, but then runs back to shore and does this a couple of times. His parents urge him to get the starfish but he tells them he can't because his hands are full of shells.

We were challenged to name the "shells" in our lives that kept us from grabbing hold of something better, namely, God. What gets in the way of pursuing Him, knowing Him, that we need to empty our hands of so He can provide something better? The shells can be something good like a relationship, but if it is not what's best for us, then it's gotta go. God will provide, but we have to choose Him, allow Him to do so.

We were given real shells to write on and leave at the altar. Some campers threw their shells into the lake or crushed them. As an English major, I love the symbolism.

What did I put on my shells? Fear & self - I get in the way. I scribbled "I've been trying to be queen of my life [instead of letting God be in control] & I have been a very bad queen." I could elaborate on this but I won't - but it is my "shell" for sure. In the intro of Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster writes: "The purpose of the Disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-interest and fear." Um, RIGHT ON. The book is awesome. I will try to write more about what I am learning from it later.

I like to blog when I feel I won't be interrupted so I can best concentrate and it's kind of hard to do in a full house, but I'm going to try to wake up early these next couple days before my roomies arrive. Now I am going to soak up this instructive, interesting book & learn more about how I can drop the shells keeping me from my starfish! Ah, good books are fabulous.