.this one time I met a story-teller. (a reflection on one thing I learned in September)

"You're only 22?!  Well then, the world is your oyster, dear."

She said it just like that, too.  Like it was from a book she'd read that morning.

This month I found myself on a trip in a purple Jeep sitting next to a woman who'd be over 80 if you were counting the years to her name, but under 30 if you weren't counting at all.

To hear her, you'd think she was a 20-something about to embark on a life that could only be described as "wild", "free", and "for goodness sake, fun".  

She refers to herself as a gypsy and a vagabond who's grown-up children can't understand why she won't just hunker down in Illinois and be an every-day grandmother already.  

"They don't understand me," she said.  "They never have...and I'm moving to Scotland, you know."

She has these plans.  Lots of them. 

Palo Alto, California was where she began her one long adventure.  An  ESL teacher to elementary school students, she later joined the Peace Corps and moved to Hungary. She spoke of an elderly woman she'd met there who didn't speak a word of English, but would wave to her from her window with a smile every morning as she walked down a back street to work. 

She went on to talk about her time in Wales with her mother's family, and an Easter Sunday she spent with a Greek Orthodox family in Santorini, Greece.  She laughed thinking back to a gentleman at an old pub in Ireland like she'd been there yesterday. 

And Jerusalem, it was a favorite of hers.  

"The man at the desk at the hotel wasn't sure if I'd like the room they had for me because it was so small," she said, "but when I looked out the window, I had a view of the temple, so I said it would do just fine." 

Her eyes lit up when she said that, and so did mine.

As we continued to drive, she continued to tell about her travels and those people she'd met along the way, and I marveled that she'd done it all in less than a single lifetime.  

We stopped at a gas station for a break and she took the hand of the lady behind the counter and asked how her day was going. "I didn't want her to think we'd just come for the restrooms..." she said.

It was something.

And it made me wonder what exactly it is I'm waiting for.

Here was a woman who is unmarried and 4 times my age....and if there's anything you can be sure of, it's that she is moving to Scotland.  She told me so 3 times.  I believe her.

And you know what?  She doesn't wait for anything.  When she wants to go somewhere, she goes.  And if she's not going anywhere, she's not waiting around for anybody or anything.  She's holding the hand of the woman behind the gas station counter, or chatting with strangers at the Starbucks where my brother works, or making sure she meets her quota of 8 hugs a day because it's good for you and that's her only reason. 

This September had a theme running straight through it.

It's funny and interesting and honestly, a little scary when God want's you to hear something.

Because he makes sure you hear it loud, clear, and almost all the time.

This month I heard it from a pastor, heard it from a friend, read it in a magazine article, and saw it in an 80-something vagabond moving to Scotland...

I don't have to wait.

Yes, there are things I'm waiting on.

But I have a choice to move in the waiting, I don't have to wait until they happen to move.

God is not waiting.

He is moving.

He is working a plan and lifting our heads upward.

He is moving us Homeward........and that is far from waiting.

Although she probably won't ever read this,  I am so thankful for this story-telling gypsy grandmother who reminded me to stop waiting and keep moving.  Because that's how we get Home.

"Today there's sunshine and company, so I am blessed"

                                                                         --Jeanne

.dog days. (10 things I learned in August)

1. Red nails are for Cali weddings and Illinois living.
I've never really been the girl who gets her nails done bright red.  But when my best friend and I sat down at the nail salon to get manicures for her wedding I decided that day was the day.  So I picked out that shade of OPI called "Got the Blues for Red" and haven't looked back.  Still haven't taken it off.

2. They grow up.
And by "they" I mean those sweet girls who've been in my high school small group.  It has been an amazing privilege to watch them grow in the Lord and to be a part of their lives every week for the last two years. There were goodbyes last month as they started their new adventures at colleges far away and I'm going to miss them, but so excited to see what God's got planned for them in the coming months.  It's something spectacular, I'm sure.

2. I really need Him to be the one who manages the time in the day.
I really need Jesus to be the one who is directing the hours of my day because when things get too busy I panic a little. or a lot.  It's so easy to see time as something we can control with planners and to-do lists.  But those haven't worked for me.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's important to make sure daily responsibilities are accomplished and that things get done.  I've just realized that I can get so caught up in what needs to get done that I forget to invite God into my day and give Him the reins to guide me through it. He's there anyway, He's in control anyway...I might as well rest in that and give Him the hours to use me in the ways He wants to.

3. "Lowland Hum"
"Lowland Hum" was new to me this August and a welcome addition to my playlist.  They are a folk band with a little bit of a twist.  Here's the link if you'd like to check them out...it's well worth your time I think.    http://lowlandhum.com/about

4.  My collection of coffee mugs now exceeds the space available in the cabinets.
This one's self-explanatory.  And very much a first-world problem.

5. Even if a movie is filmed in your hometown, it doesn't mean you are going to like it.
Last month I saw the movie "At Any Price" thinking that it was going to be great because it was filmed in Sycamore and Sycamore is great.  Which is Sabrina logic, I guess.  I also remember some of my friends commenting on how  the main actors, Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron, frequented the bars and restaurants around town where they worked (even the Farm and Fleet) and how great they were to talk to.  Also contributing to my Sabrina logic.  So my brother and I were super excited to see this movie, and about 10 minutes in we were almost simultaneously "ugh"-ing.  It was just so, so sad. And kind of gross.  And then sad again.  But I did see my high school and Sycamore Speedway in some of the scenes, which redeemed it a little.

6. "Boyfriend" jeans can be your favorite jeans.
Ever since the "boyfriend" jean became a thing, I've been looking for a pair that fit and looked halfway decent.  Well I finally found a pair at Target that fit well, are comfortable, and they just might be my favorite pair of jeans that I own.  This is quite a feat, superficial I know.

7. California really is everything they say it is...but the Midwest still has this heart of mine.
My best friend's wedding was in California last month (see #1) and it was the most beautiful wedding I've been to.  It was outside on her new husband's family's ranch tucked away down a 2 mile dirt road in the hills of San Luis Obispo County and really....does it get better than that?

 It was the first time I'd ever been to California and it is one breathtakingly-beautiful place.  The temps are perfect, the ocean's on one side with mountains on the other, and the sun sticks around all day.  It's what everyone says it is and most people warned me that I might never come back.  But when the weekend came to an end, I was ready to be get back to the Midwest.  It's home.

8.  Woodstock, IL has a new chocolate shop and I'm already a fan.
For those of you who have never been to Woodstock, it is one happy place.  It's a sweet little town on a square with cute shops and one wonderful bookstore.  Recently added is a chocolate shop called Ethereal Confections.  It looks amazing, smells amazing, and the people who work there are beyond friendly.  If you are a lover of chocolate I highly recommend it.  Below is a picture I took with my phone's camera.  If it looks this sweet from a picture, I need not mention what it's like in person. :)

9. Learning to trust, trust, trust.
This may be a word that's overly used in our vocabulary, especially when it comes to a relationship with God.  "Just trust Him," people say.  "Trust that God knows best," still more say.  And I do believe He does.  But sometimes my heart feels differently.  I want to control outcomes and sometimes find myself wishing that God would come to my senses rather than resting in the fact that He knows me and knows the whole story and has plans of His own that I don't see or understand.  But He does.  I found myself in more than one situation last month where I had to learn to preach this again and again to myself, "Trust Him....in all things. Trust Him".

10. "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks will always make me cry.
I keep waiting for the day when this song doesn't make me tear up.  But it always does, no matter where I am. I heard it several times in August and learned that it probably always will.  It was one of my Mama's favorites, and one of mine too.  Thanks Stevie.