Revisiting Eden

The U.S. and British Virgin Islands have got to be the closest place to Eden you can find on earth. Two years ago, Kirk moved to St. Thomas (one of the U.S. islands) for about a month. He was taking a sabbatical of sorts, and his best friend Tom, who owns an amazing villa called Oceancliff on St. Thomas, made the home available to Kirk during the time he was away. At the tail end of Kirk's time down there, I joined Tom, his wife, Cindy, and a few other people they invited down there for a wonderful 6-day trip.

As you can see, it's gorgeous . . . and we recently learned that we're going back! This week, in fact, as part of our first-anniversary celebration (which is next Saturday, the 9th). We can hardly believe our good fortune or Tom's generosity of spirit.

Three couples will be going -- us, Tom and Cindy, and their friends LaKeisha and Ivor, who will also be celebrating their wedding anniversary. The six of us enjoyed a great dinner last night at The Capital Grille as a pre-trip kickoff in order to finalize details, get to know one another better (we had met LaKeisha and Ivor a couple times before but never in a place that fostered too much get-to-know-you conversation), and just generally celebrate this upcoming fun excursion.

Did I mention it is beautiful there? The deserted beach in the photo above is actually on St. John, the next island over from St. Thomas and my personal favorite. The island is two-thirds national forest. This particular stretch of beach is called Cinnamon Bay. When Kirk and I visited this beach two years ago, there was probably only about ten other people on it the entire time we were there. That's definitely the way to enjoy a beach in one of the most pristine spots of creation!

We fly out early Thursday morning and return on Sunday evening. Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Thanks to my hub for these beautiful and inspiring photographs.

Waitress, with Keri Russell

Kirk and I saw a great independent film tonight at the wonderfully historic Enzian Theatre. It's called Waitress, and it stars Keri Russell -- you know, the girl from Felicity. I know she has been in a few films since that show ended (Mission Impossible 3, The Upside of Anger, for example), but I think she and everyone else has been wondering if she was going to be pigeonholed forever as "that Felicity girl."

This is the film in which she finally succeeds in breaking that stereotype.

Waitress is a story about a young woman with a flair for baking pies. And not just baking them, but inventing new ones. Seriously, she invents a new pie every day -- it's part of her job at the diner -- and she pins them with great, creative names. Not only that, but you get to watch them being made often. It's one of the most inventive and beautiful bits about this film.

Most days this girl invents multiple new pie recipes -- she's just that talented -- and for her, it's not just a passion but something she was born to do. It opens a doorway into her most contented, calm, and satisfied self. Which is a really great thing to watch, because she's stuck in a pretty bad marriage, and you find out right away that she's now pregnant with a baby she doesn't want to bring into this life she's stuck living. But she decides to have the baby anyway.

The bright spots in this girl's life, besides all the pies, of course, are her two waitress friends at the diner (one of whom also wrote and directed the film). Collectively, they provide kicks to this movie and smart, witty dialogue. You can't help but love each of them with their quirkiness, their beautiful hearts, and their friendship and honesty with one another. Andy Griffith also shows up in a great role here, playing a crotchety old man who owns the diner. Oh, and there's also the issue of an extramarital affair. (I throw in that last part for any of you out there who might like to know ahead of time that this element shows up in the movie.)

If you have an independent theatre in your town, I highly recommend you go see this film. It's warm, it's witty, it's inventive, and it's sweet. I love the dialogue, and I especially love the humor. I love the sweet song she sings at one point in the movie about baking pies with heart in the middle, which the character learned from her own mother (and which I warn you that you'll be humming for at least 30 minutes after you leave the theatre).

Beyond all the strength the film carries on its own, I loved seeing Keri Russell star in a strong role other than that of Felicity. You believe in her character, you root for her, and you fall in love with her (and her pies!). I hope you see it and enjoy it thoroughly.

The Morning After

Kirk and I made it to bed just past eleven last night, having finished the entire move in one whole day. After showers and a clean load of laundry done, we dropped into bed with just enough energy to muster a small prayer of thanks. We slept soundly and gratefully.

Kirk helped me realize that last night was the first night in over three years that I've slept in my own bed in an actual bedroom. Can you believe it? These past three years, I've lived in a one-room guesthouse with a tiny twin bed in a sleeping area that shared space with the living area, an even smaller guesthouse cottage that didn't even boast a bed (I slept on the couch and floor for a year!), and a converted garage studio where the bedroom, living room, and eating area shared space. Compared to those living quarters, this two-bedroom cottage is luxurious! And I love every bit of it.

On this morning after, we are definitely feeling it now: sore, sore, sore. Our backs hurt, our hamstrings hurt, and we both have a case of the sniffles. But we're so happy to be moved in, and this morning finds us taking our slow and quiet time of enjoyment. Take a look. Better yet, come on in.

Quiet morning for the kitchen. (Those plants were here when we moved in. I'd say they need some tender care!)

Quiet morning for the bookshelves. (And yes, they are built-in!)

Quiet morning in the farmroom. (We're calling the little footstool under the window Diva's Throne. We'll see if she eventually makes use of it.)

Quiet morning in the library for me, writing these snippets of stories for you. (Is that a rogue Starbucks cup I see??)

Quiet morning for Solomon and Daddy. (Yes, that is Solomon back asleep. If you can't tell, naps are his second favorite hobby, after eating. While he was awake in the farmroom just a short time ago, now you can see he's reclaimed his turf on the bed for a mid-morning snooze. Silly boy! So predictable!)

The View from Our House

I thought I'd share a few pics of the exterior of our home, since some of you (ahem, I mean Erin) asked to see more. Enjoy!

View from our front door. Can you see the lake peeking between the tree and the left of the house across the street? That's Lake Sylvan, a small lake that's perfect for canoeing.

Here's the view along the front of our house to the right of the front door. I love the casement windows and the little window boxes! Chris, the wife who owns the house, said she wants to plant more flowers in those boxes -- and that's fine by us!

View along the front walk out to the tiny driveway that fits one car.

Here's a closer view of the hibiscus blooming beautiful pink flowers on the far side of the driveway.

Another view of the front of our house, this time from the left of the front door. We're going to do something about those drapes . . . something a little more "us." Right now, we're thinking long red linen panels.

And this little trellis to the left of the house . . .

. . . leads to the side of the house where you can find these pretty lilies. At least, I think they're lilies. If so, I must say: how appropriate! The little brick walkway here leads further back to a sitting area with a fountain that we share with the neighbors, Sam and Chris, who own both houses. If you look closely, just past the kitchen windowbox, you can see an awning. It covers an outside door that leads into our bedroom.

And finally, this burgeoning gardenia tree (is it properly called a tree?) blossoms up against Sam and Chris's house, right across from the lilies. These gardenia blooms waft their scent perpetually and make the outside of the house smell soooo good!

Moving In

We're moving into our new house this weekend, with the big push happening today. Boy, are we tired! We cleared out our storage unit in three trips with a pickup truck this morning and then spent a couple hours going in and out of antique stores looking for furniture (since we have the truck until tomorrow morning). Alas, no luck on the furniture front thus far.

Then we headed home for a short break and to finish packing the belongings in our existing residence. We just got back from taking the first load of those things to the new house, and now we have left to pack the kitchen. Thankfully, most of what's in the kitchen right now doesn't belong to us, so hopefully it won't take long.

We're almost there! And then, of course, comes the unpacking. Hopefully by Monday we can take a day of rest.

Our New Home Awaits

Welcome to our new home! Kirk and I have been dropping by the house each day, walking around and around its rooms and debating how to "dress it up" once we move in. We've made a few decisions I'm glad to share with you here.

This is the front room. (The front door is around the little corner you see on the left edge of this picture.) Originally, we thought it made sense to bring a sofa and some reading chairs into this room -- you know, make it like a living space, since there's a built-in shelf in the wall for a TV with cable hookups. But the more we thought about this, the less this space felt like a regular living space. We don't even want to buy a TV for this house. So Kirk hit upon the idea of putting a large wooden farm table into this space that seats at least 8 people, making the room an immediate gathering space for good meals and lively, creative conversation. Great idea, huh? My hub is so creative. So, we're now calling this space the Farmroom.

This little space next to the Farmroom was originally going to be the dining room nook. But that's so, well, predictable, and now we've decided the Farmroom is going to be the place for meals. So Kirk (again, the ever-creative one between us) came up with the idea of making this area into a library. We can put a little loveseat under the windows and then add an old square trunk to serve as a coffee table. (The trunk was my idea, but it really originated with him because that's what he used as a coffee table in his old house when I met him. So, again, he takes the creative prize!) Against the left wall (not pictured here), we'll add a small bookcase and a comfy reading chair. And, of course, a great lamp to make it cozy in the evenings.

Welcome to our favorite room in the house -- the one that sold us on it immediately once we looked inside. The owners pegged this as the master bedroom, but after the walk-through we turned to each other and said, "Wouldn't this make a great studio?" This highly charged creative space is dying to be appreciated as an artistic workspace. We're going to put two side-by-side large wood desks under the long line of windows so we can keep the gorgeous outside environs as inspiration as we work. There's also room for a bookcase, a printer desk, and some files, if needed.

And here's our little bedroom at the back of the house. Isn't that stained-glass window beautiful? I love the tiny chair and antique desk, too. What's great about this room is how private it feels. You have to step down into it from the entrances on either side of the room, one of which is a white wood door with a window cut into it, which I love. That door makes it feel like a farmhouse, as does the view from the bed. When you lay on your back and look up, you feel like you're in an old farmroom because of the high ceiling, high crossbeams, and white beadboard lining the walls and ceiling.

Now, isn't this a house you'd want to visit? I know it's one I want to inhabit! I look forward to sharing more pictures as we begin to furnish its rooms.

We Got the House!

That's right, folks. Kirk and I are now the proud parents of an adorable cottage in historic Winter Park. They called this morning, said we were their first choice, and then we stopped by after church tonight to sign papers and hand over the deposit.

Then, after a lengthy chatty session in which we learned just how much our neighborhood is begging to be serialized in short-story form (the neighbors have just that much character, not to mention the kind of wildlife action that happens near-nightly around there!), we stepped next door and entered our new home.

We then proceeded to walk from room to room, around and around the house, for a good 45 minutes, drinking in the singular wonder of this wonderful gift. We can hardly believe it's true, but it is.

Thank you for your prayers and love. I send an especially big hug of thanks to all you adorable girls out there whose many well-wishes and "Oh Christianne's" offered on my previous post brought huge smiles to my face . . . herein lies your official invitation to a great gathering of love, laughs, and afternoon tea at my new house. Come on down!

An Adorable Surprise

Last Sunday, Kirk and I stumbled upon a house for rent that pulled us into its adorable orbit, and we're hoping it's ours for the taking.

We happened to be driving around, as we like to do at least a few times a week, keeping up good conversation and taking in the surrounding beauty. Winter Park has a number of neighborhoods that are just plain charming, either because the homes are quaint or because the lakes -- sometimes edging both sides of the street! -- shine with a peaceful and glassy beauty.

This particular day, there was a terrific summer storm going. The rain pelted our car like big baseballs, and we could barely see through the windshield. We pulled over once it started and rolled down our windows, taking in the smell of wet air and letting the big drops of water hit our arms and shoulders.

After the storm ended, we kept driving around the town. We were cruising through the usual neighborhoods when Kirk decided to take a random turn on impulse. We headed into a neighborhood we rarely visit, and soon we had turned onto a street I'd never seen before in my life. It was beautiful, and soon a small red sign came into view. It read, "For Rent."

This was no ordinary sign. It sat on the small front yard of the cutest cottage you've ever seen in your life. It's kinda tiny, with adorable casement windows that line the entire front. A tiny brick driveway can fit one car. Two oldish camphor trees and a magnolia tree stand in the front yard, with a burgeoning gardenia tree on the left side of the house that sweetly and persistenly scents the air. The house is white, with a black front door. It sits on a stubbly brick street.

Cute.

"Shall I call?" Kirk asked, with his phone already out and his fingers doing the dialing. He's never responded this way to a home before -- already calling the owners up! -- but there he was, first introducing himself to the wife and then speaking freely with the husband. It turns out they own the home next door, and both homes are on the historic homes register for Winter Park. It's called the Edison Cottage, named after (you guessed it) Thomas Edison, who owned both homes at one time.

Kirk and Sam carried on a friendly conversation for a while about the neighborhood (Kirk used to live around the corner) and their shared experiences owning and renting properties. We learned that they were out of town this week but would be back in town on Friday, at which point we were invited to call for an appointment to see the house. Needless to say, it was going to be a long week requiring patience!

When Kirk hung up the phone, we stared at each other a moment and then looked at the house. Almost simultaneously, we turned back toward each other and suggested taking a closer look. We parked the car in the driveway and got out to stroll the perimeter. We tried to peek through the windows, but, unfortunately, the drapes kept us from any sneak-peeking! After a short walk around the front and right side of the house, we put our hands on the front doorposts and said a quick prayer, releasing it into God's hands.

Obviously, we drove by the house numerous times this week, each time voicing how strange this experience feels. We weren't looking for a new place to live at all, but suddenly it seemed like the most obvious next step for us: with our first anniversary just a few weeks away, the time seems right to put down roots in Winter Park and settle into a real home together. (We've been living in a converted garage this past year that's hip and trendy . . . but definitely small!) I really desire the experience of stepping into a potential home with Kirk, just to see how it feels. I desire to live in a modest house-sized space we can call our own. I desire to hunt for the perfect furnishings to fill that house. It just feels like the right time to start sharing these kind of experiences with Kirk, and he voiced his desire for the same.

So we wondered all week whether this is God's next gift to us or simply a foreshadowing of some gift he's preparing for us to receive sometime in the future.

It's probably needless to say that we called them up first thing this morning. We felt sure others would be lined up to do the same, and we wanted to ensure they knew our serious interest. We left a message and waited (as patiently as we could!) to hear back from them. Later, in the early evening, we tried again on a whim and were surprised when Sam picked up the phone. He invited us over right then, so what did we do? We scooted on down.

Of course, the house is darling. It's exactly what we would have hoped. Somehow, I just knew

it would have hardwood floors . . . and it did. Somehow I just knew the front room would carry the entire length of the house . . . and it did. Somehow both of us knew it would feel like an expansive creative space . . . and it does.

It was loaded with many more surprises. For instance, Thomas Edison's daughter-in-law stayed there often, using it as her artist studio. She painted a number of cupboard faces in the main front room, which the owners have preserved with pride. There are built-in bookshelves in the front room. There's a stained-glass window in the back bedroom. There's also an antique desk, a bed, and an unusual door with a glass window leading down into that bedroom, too. It even comes with a washer and dryer! (What a relief, since we've been paying for wash-and-fold service this entire past year.)

The final verdict is that we love the house. We like the owners, and they seemed to like us, too -- they spent about an hour and a half with us tonight, even inviting us into their home to fill out the application and to show us some great historical artifacts about their house and Winter Park. At this point, their appointment schedule is booked through the weekend, as they received "stacks of calls" this week to see the house.

We should have an answer by Monday or Tuesday, though, and we suppose now all we can do is wait. We'd appreciate your joining us in prayer!

The (Almost) Raw Foods Diet

For the past week and a half, Kirk and I have been conducting an experiment. It's called the Raw Foods Diet. We eat . . . only raw foods: spinach, strawberries, apples, oranges, broccoli, cauliflower, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and almonds, with just water and Kombucha (a raw food drink) for refreshment.

Yep, that's about it. Every day, all day, all week long. Isn't it grand?

It took us about a day to make exceptions to this rule. We could eat soup, but not the cream-based ones. We could eat chicken, but only steamed and as a garnish for salad. We could eat sushi, but only as the furthest extent of this law we'd just laid down. You can see how it quickly became the (Almost) Raw Foods Diet.

We began a week ago Thursday because we'd heard that drastically changing one's eating regimen could result in sluggishness and even illness. We wanted to have the weekend right around the corner to recover, if necessary, and I'm glad we did. Even though we had planned to go it a week at the first run, we felt so starved by Sunday that we agreed on our first sabbath break. (I, for one, was getting particularly cranky!)

That first sabbath, we had Mexican for lunch, Starbucks for a snack, and pizza for dinner . . . and felt sick to our stomachs after all three. We were glad to strike up on the diet in the new week ahead, just to see how the good foods would take to our systems again. So this last week, we really did go for it. We went for about six days straight eating just the foods listed above, though I added a nonfat light yogurt to my berry-and-almond afternoon snack, and Kirk added Eggbeaters to his occasional evening snack choices.

Since we had dinner plans with Kirk's dad this past Saturday night, we agreed our sabbath break would run from Saturday night to Sunday night, and we agreed that the "free day" meant being allowed to eat whatever we wanted without any guilt or shame. We wondered aloud how this would feel after a week of eating consistently well.

Having completed the sabbath now, I can tell you it didn't feel good. We found the indulgent foods just didn't have the flavor we used to taste in them. They tasted . . . dead. Which is appropriate, I guess, because dead is exactly what they were! (As opposed to living foods that come directly from the earth.) I also felt sick to my stomach again and found I couldn't eat very much at meals. I couldn't even finish an iced latte! It's amazing how much your system can change once you begin feeding yourself what you need instead of just what you want.

Fours . . . Wanna Play?

Four jobs I've had: waitress, bookstore manager, entry level bank manager, book editor

Four places I have lived: a house, an apartment, a guest house, and a converted garage

Four movies I watch over and over: Sense and Sensibility, Anne of Green Gables, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Pride and Prejudice (new version)

Four favorite foods: sushi, Mexican, Italian, and Starbucks

Four favorite TV shows: Passport to Europe, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Friends, and The Search for the Next Doll

Four places I'd rather be right now: England, Paris, Ireland, or Italy

Four people I tag to complete this survey: Kirsten, Laura, Blue Mountain Mama, and Erin

This Just In

Have you heard? Have you heard? They've made a movie of Jane Austen's life, and it looks positively wonderful.

It released in the UK on March 9 . . . and comes to the U.S. on August 3 with limited distribution. You can view the full theatrical trailer here. Enjoy, and pleasant waiting!

Movie Highlight: The Holiday

When Kirk took me to see The Holiday in theatres last December, I fell in love from moment one. Kate Winslet opens the movie with a voice-over about the different forms of love, landing firmly and finally on the woes of unrequited love in an exposition so authentically and painfully told that you can't help trusting her completely with the next two hours of your life. And she doesn't disappoint.

I loved this film so much that I traipsed happily back to the theatres one week later, having to see it again, and then snatched it up at Borders a few weeks ago once it came on sale.

Here's the great premise: Two women unlucky in love and having never met decide on a home exchange for the Christmas holiday. One woman (Kate Winslet) lives in England and makes a modest living writing for the London Telegraph. She owns an adorable book-lined and snow-steeped cottage in Surrey. (Besides falling in love with this movie and Kate's great character, I fell in love also with this little cottage.)

The other woman (Cameron Diaz) produces movie trailers for a living and owns a luxurious bungalow in the hills of L.A. She has probably never heard the phrase "modest living" in her whole life.

Of course, the inevitable outcome is that their lives change completely for the better from this experience. It's a perfectly made chick flick with excellent dialogue and comic timing that I highly recommend. Here are a few of my favorites from this film.

Favorite Kate Winslet moment: The five-minute montage of her excitable glee as she discovers perk after perk in her new temporary home, complete with jumps, squeals, yips, and a final face-down flop on the king-sized bed.

Favorite Cameron Diaz moment: The three times she closes her eyes only to hear the movie-trailer-voice-over-man giving a play-by-play of her life inside her head.

Favorite Jack Black movie: His meandering walk through the video store as he gives a vocal exposition on brilliant scores of brilliant films.

Favorite Jude Law moment: Mr. Napkinhead.

Favorite unexpected moment: Discovering the real Sophie and Olivia.

Favorite line: "Boob grace," said by Jack Black when he reaches past Kate Winslet at the sushi bar to get the soy sauce and accidentally catches her chest with the side of his hand.

Favorite musical moment: When Ennio Morricone's Cinema Paradiso score is pouring out of Jack Black's convertible and wafting through the air the first time he meets Kate Winslet.

Pictures Debuting to Your Right

I'm tinkering a bit with my template. You'll find that I've added some fun pics to the right-hand column. It helps add some personality to this otherwise quite minimal site . . . but I know it's still nowhere near the gorgeous design my good friend Kirsten's got going on her blog.

In related news, I'm thinking of changing the look here altogether. Those of you on Blogger know that after a while, you've seen all the templates there are to be seen on Blogger's template site . . . not to mention that everyone else already claimed the great designs and you don't want to be a copy-cat! However, I think we need some more color and variety over here. Agreed? Any suggestions?

A Traipse through My Literary Life

Here's a look at what I've been reading the past two weeks. If you can believe it, all of them were purchased by Kirk -- so I say he's got exceptional taste!

Crossing the Desertby Robert J. Wicks

Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith by Henri Nouwen

As has been clear from recent posts, I've been walking through a desert experience and, as a result, am learning to listen more closely to the life of the heart in this long walk of faith. As such, these two books have been a fitting and tremendous gift to take with me along the path.

Crossing the Desert shares wisdom from the Desert Fathers and Mothers about what happens when we move into the desert. The author applies four questions to the desert experience: What am I filled with now? What prevents me from letting go? How do I empty myself? and What will satisfy me yet leave me open to more? I'm sure you can tell from my recent writings how relevant these questions would be for me to consider right now. Perhaps they'll be relevant for you to consider, too.

The spiritual direction book by Henri Nouwen was published posthumously as a collection of his thoughts on the subject by two people who studied him extensively and knew him well. Some of the writings included in the collection were previously published, and some were excised from his private journals and notes. This book speaks quite sensitively to the life of the heart and how to live from a place of belovedness in Christ. Many sections made me feel as though Nouwen was speaking to me from across a table in a coffeeshop or armchair-to-armchair in his office. He writes with great tenderness and compassion, for he understands all too well the duplicity that can be found in our hearts and the aimless and useless striving we often employ to cope with the world.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

A gifted and successful writer who wrote five years for GQ (and was nominated for several awards along the way), Gilbert gave it all up to spend a year exploring the balance between pleasure and devotion. The clincher is how she did it: by spending four months in Italy to learn pleasure, four months in India to learn devotion, and four months in Bali to learn a balance between the two.

This book is absolutely a gorgeous read, as well as funny, tender, and even heartbreaking. To be honest, I wrestled at times with her section on devotion (she follows the Yogic tradition), even setting down the book in a huff or wanting to throw it across the room at times because of our major differences in faith, but in the end I found myself grateful, stimulated, and challenged by what she learned from her struggles to attend more faithfully to her faith and meditation practice.

Becoming Who You Are by James Martin

Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton on the Vocation of Writing by Robert Inchausti

These are two excellent books more contemplative in nature.

Becoming Who You Are is written by a Jesuit priest culling primarily from the writings of Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen on the subject of the true self. I appreciated so much the humble honesty the author brings to this discussion, especially in sharing his own journey to finding his authentic self and walking away from a life of falsity. His story and the gentle way in which he writes moved me to even try to track down his e-mail address online in order to thank him! (I was unsuccessful in this attempt.) In short, this is a great read for those wishing to live a life of true courage and authenticity with a willingness to walk away from the trappings that so often ensnare us. I finished this book in a few hours, which should tell you not only how accessible it is but also how stimulating and deeply felt the material can be if you open your heart to its message.

I'm only about twenty pages into Echoing Silence, but already it has been helpful for the writer in me. It pulls together everything Thomas Merton ever wrote -- either in books, articles, published journals, or letters -- about his vocation as a writer and how he struggled to marry it to his life as a Trappist monk. The book gives a revealing look at Merton's very human side in the ways he struggled with pride and arrogance and even anger at times. By seeing Merton's humanity, him being such a great teacher and modern saint, I am being brought to believe even more in Christ's power to transform hearts, inhabit our being, and even triumph over our inadequacies by ministering His power to others despite our own limitations and failures. Again, this is another great primer on finding the true self, and an encouragement to embrace authenticity.

Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Lifeby Henri Nouwen

I read these two at a monastery in Santa Barbara that we stayed in for a few days last week. Life of the Beloved was a surprise-find in one of their libraries and held me in its grip from the very first page. It reads as a letter Nouwen wrote to his young friend who was seeking the relevance of faith to a secular life (or one lived outside a monastic or religious calling). As you read this book, you are both rooting for his friend to be enlightened and transformed by the words while being enlightened and transformed at a deep and visceral level yourself. I felt fully engulfed in the love of Christ and my place in God's great heart while I read every single page of this short, remarkable book.

The Selfless Love of Christ has been a challenging read for me. As you know, I've been wrestling to "let go of my lists" and stop striving for acknowledgement and worldly gain. Just as its subtitle suggests, this book helps us understand how a life of downward mobility -- a stripping away of our fleshly desires (but not desire itself) -- is the heart and example of Christ, who is the very foundation and model for our faith. I haven't finished this one yet because, as I said, it's been hard! But I do believe it speaks true and tells a message that's worth our embrace. I plan to continue reading it in the coming weeks.

And, up next . . .

The Crime of Living Cautiously by Luci Shaw

Kirk handed this one to me tonight, and I look forward to reading in it about the importance of risk-taking in order to live the lives we were created to live. Should be a good read!

Postnote: I just re-read this post and realized how very much of a book nerd I am. Kirk is, too. We're actually self-proclaimed book addicts. (Remember my post from a few months ago on this subject?) Just to give you a heads-up on our habits of book behavior, when we were on vacation last week, we had to have spent at least $350 on new books. This is more than we spent on food the whole week, I think. And to give you an idea of what this looks like in real life, we had to pack many of the "old" books we had brought with us on the front end of the journey in our checked luggage on the way back just so that we could enjoy some of our new finds on the homebound flight! So, yeah, we're dorks about this. We love bookstores and the feel of new books in hand, the anticipation of how they might help form our souls into what God's making them to be. And Kirk is especially good at finding unique and well-suited-to-the-moment books for both of us. We love this about each other, and we love this about ourselves, period. Can you relate to this at all??

Solomon and the Lizard

This one's a shout-out to Erin, who promised to comment on my next more trivial post. Well, girl, here it is.

A tiny lizard scooted in the front door of our house this afternoon and had no idea he was marching to his almost-death. He was simply never going to be a match for our hefty boy, Solomon. See?

Sure, that lizard may have been quick as a fish, tucking inside the door faster than Kirk could say "Whoa!" but he vastly underestimated Solomon on two counts:

1. Solomon has nowhere else to be but in this house.

2. Solomon is easily entertained.

Well, maybe not so easily entetained. Mostly, he's just bored, sleepy, and hungry. But lizards? "Where's the fork and napkin?" he cries. "Let's get on the move!"

The lizard snaked into the house, around the table, and under the entertainment center in a flash . . . and then Solomon staked the perimeter.

"Beware," Kirk warned as I walked in a short time later. "We have a little friend in the house -- but don't worry! I think Solomon's got it covered."

And you know what? He did. In fact, we were pretty impressed with our boy. He did not desist from that post next to the entertainment center for one solid one hour. Granted, he lays in fixed spaces for longer periods than that most days, but hey, he doesn't usually stake it out on the concrete floor. Beds are more his style. They remind him of, well, you know: sleep.

And we had drastically underrated Solomon's tenacity. Because you know what he did next? He hulked his massive, gotta-be-at-least-twenty-five-pound mass under the entertainment center -- a space just five inches high but two feet deep -- which means he had to spread himself real thin, which must have been a true first for him, in order to go after that jumpy-legged lizard!

Next thing we knew, he had contorted himself alongside that skinny space and then flushed himself back out of it, covered from head to toe in . . . purple lint balls. Gross! I wiped them off and smoothed him down, but you know what? He went right back to it. He dove back under the entertainment center and yo-yo'd himself around for a good five minutes, popping out every once in a while for breath. I am telling you, the boy is tenacious. He sure can be relentless in his pursuit of the heftier dinner meats. Who knew?

Of course, he got the prize. When we found the two of them together a short time later, Solomon was sitting as pretty as can be under the coffee table, his arms folded underneath him and a superior air of satisfaction emanating forth. The mostly-dead lizard was pleading its life beside him. So what did we do? We did what only a humane couple would do: we grabbed some paper towels, scooped the lizard up, and deposited him outside in the world where he belongs. Only right now he's making his way in that outside world without a tail . . . a tail we trust Solomon will likely expel for us sometime in the night on the carpet. Good grief.

Swimming with Dolphins

About three weeks ago, Kirk took me to Discovery Cove as part of his Valentine's Day gift to me. This is a unique theme park in which you can snorkel with stingrays, sharks, and brightly-colored fish; laze your way through a long, winding river with two waterfalls and a gentle current; sit on the soft-sand beach to watch the trained dolphins swim at their leisure in their three lagoons; and, best of all, swim with the dolphins yourself for a surreal 30-minute block of time.

So, meet Coral, the six-year-old dolphin we got to massage, pet, kiss, and even ride on that great afternoon. She's very friendly. And she's also got a boyfriend who is quite the ladies' man around town.

It was pretty amazing to not only pet and befriend Coral . . . but also to hold her fins as she rode through the water with great force!

Then, the next weekend, as part of our Discovery Cove package, we got free entrance into Sea World, a theme park that, despite my being born-and-bred in Southern California (which also has a Sea World park in San Diego), I'd never visited. We saw pilot whales, more dolphins, walruses, sharks, and even manatees that kiss!

But the most amazing part of the day was, hands-down, the 30-minute "Believe" show with Shamu. I've heard about Shamu my whole life, and I've never been one to hype up on amusement park shows at all, but this one holds an exception. The show is about Shamu and her four other killer-whale friends. They're huge! And so beautiful and powerful.

About twelve handlers run the show (it takes that many to contain the whales!), and their love for the animals is so evident in the way they ride and pet and feed and talk about them. Perhaps what made the show so powerful, besides the tricks and the great visual effects of the four rotating screens on the platform, was that the show was built around story. There's a visual component that tells the story of a boy who loves whales and befriends them in the ocean, and this paves the way for him to be "transformed" into one of the handlers who runs the show.

I didn't expect to get so caught up in one of these shows, especially one with lots of hype and based on a killer whale. I mean, it's just a whale, right? But I loved it. My day would have been made if that was the only thing we saw all day. I guess the bigger blessing is that we got to see all those other things, too. What a one-two punch! This happy couple had a blast.

One Year Ago This Weekend

Want to know what Kirk and I were doing one year ago this weekend? For one, we were celebrating our first anniversary as a dating couple. As far as the rest goes, I'll let the pictures do the talking . . .

On Friday evening, we were having dinner at Manuels on the 28th, which is -- you guessed it -- a restaurant on the 28th floor of a highrise building. The Bank of America building in downtown Orlando, to be exact.

Kirk reserved a table that overlooks Winter Park, the setting for so many of our visits over the preceding year, and also where he's lived for most of his life.

Can you say, "About to be engaged?" I knew the proposal would likely happen that weekend, but I didn't know it would happen that evening over dessert!

What's this? What's this? It's proof -- that's what! Taken on the beautiful Chain of Lakes Boat Tour, which is one of our favorite things to do on a gorgeous day in Florida.

Before heading over to the downtown Winter Park art festival, we went snooping around the property of an old abandoned home on one of the lakes. Very dangerous trespassing!

And finally, on Sunday, we went to hear the Kiev Symphony Orchestra play at the Bob Carr Center in downtown Orlando. Here I am, in the hotel ahead of time, all dressed up and ready to go!

***

In all, it was quite a weekend, full of wonderful surprises. And this weekend, Kirk has planned a surprise. Yesterday, he sent me a cryptic text message that said, "Be ready tomorrow by noon." When I called to ask what the message was all about, all he said was that we're taking an overnight trip. And when I came home and asked for more information, all he said was, "You'll need to bring something nice for dinner, but also pack your bathing suit."

Curioser and curioser! I guess you and I will have to stay tuned to see what happens!

Worshipping with Chris Tomlin

On Saturday night, Kirk and I were privileged to see Chris Tomlin in concert with some friends at a local church. Let me tell you, it is one incredible thing to be led in worship by the man who has almost single-handedly changed the face of worship as we know it in the past 10 years.

Oh, and the guy who is credited with the other half of this amazing feat? His name is Matt Redman, and he was there, too.

After starting us off with two high-energy songs -- I think they were "Your Grace Is Enough" and "Glorious" -- Chris greeted the crowd and said this was going to be a night of praise. "Tonight is not about us," he said, with utmost sincerity in his voice. "It's not about you, and it's not about me. It's about worshipping our God and King as the body of Christ, right here together."

Which is exactly what we did. For three full hours. We sang "Indescribable." "How Great Is Our God." "How Can I Keep From Singing Your Praise?" "Blessed Be the Name." We sang the very first song he ever wrote, "We Fall Down," which I heard for the first time ever in a chapel during my college years at Biola. And we sang his beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" that was released alongside the Wilberforce film earlier this month.

What an amazing privilege it is to sing the praises of our God alongside the physical body of Christ! It is a privilege that is in no way lost on me.

Kirk on the Radio!

Kirk was interviewed today, along with Ken Wales, the executive producer of Amazing Grace, on a local radio talk show that streams live to the internet and across the nation. It's called Steve Brown Etcetera.

The segment with Ken Wales starts at 20:00, and then Kirk takes over at 29:00 to discuss the modern-day movement to eradicate slavery. (You can scroll forward to these times on your media player once you download the show.)

My hub does a perfectly polished job. Check it out!

Meeting My Diana?

As some of you may remember from this post here, I have been waiting for a kindred spirit for a long time now. About a month ago, I thought I spied her inside my local Starbucks. I felt a connection with a girl sitting across the room on an overstuffed couch while I sat next to the window at a table, typing away on my computer. I made eye contact with her a few times, and we even exchanged a few smiles. This is significant, since I do not often smile at strangers and even less frequently make prolonged eye contact. Eventually, though, she got up and left, and I had done nothing about it.

That same day, right after she left, I started an essay that began, "I think my Diana just walked out the door." I titled it "Waiting for My Diana." Though I never finished that essay, the story serves as a good illustration for the hope I've continued to hold that a Florida-based kindred spirit will stumble on into my life.

Tonight may have been the night. I met a girl named Lauren. She and her husband were our invited guests to an advance screening of Amazing Grace. Kirk has known them for years and even told me about her two and a half years ago, when we first met on the cruise to Ireland. When I met her husband last month at an arts gathering for our church, he spent about five minutes with me before echoing the same thing Kirk has been saying all this time: "We really need to get you and Lauren together."

Well, tonight that finally happened. While Kirk distributed information about the film to the line of people outside the door, I was privileged to spend some time with Lauren. And here is what I learned about her. I learned that she loves writing and that her favorite kind of books are the nonfiction spiritual reflection type, just like me. I learned that she loves Anne Lamott, Donald Miller, and Lauren Winner, who are among my top favorites, and that she's been meaning to re-read Winner's book Girl Meets God, which is a book I read five years ago and just started re-reading this month. I learned, too, that she majored in English and is not native to Florida, either.

These are just the surface details, but perhaps the most telling thing is that I opened up to her about my writing in a way I haven't done with a stranger in a very long while. (Usually I have trouble describing the kind of work I'm attempting to do.) After a prolonged bit of time sharing about myself -- and, specifically, at a depth of sharing how God's recent work in my life is affecting my writing -- I got self-conscious and said, "I need to stop blabbering!" And do you know what she said to me? She said, "No! Go on! I want to know everything about you!"

Wow. I've never had someone say that to me after knowing me just thirty minutes. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever had someone other than my husband say something that direct to me before. It really made my jaw drop.

Needless to say, Lauren's warmth and enthusiasm and definitely her shared interests endeared her to me. After the film we exchanged phone numbers, of course, and I plan to call her this weekend to set a coffee date. I have great hopes she is just the kind of friend I have been praying for all this while.

Oh, and by the way: For those of you who have no idea what I mean by all that Diana stuff, I highly recommend that you visit your local library this weekend and borrow the Anne of Green Gables DVD.