Mickey-Mousing It

Shoosh, Shoosh, down the hill and over the moguls. We tried to go at least 3-4 times during the season. We owned our own equipment, so semi-seriously we took on the sport.  I loved skating as a kid, so skiing felt like something I might be OK at. 

 Yep, just OK.  

Heavenly

Wanna-Be...

Only one time I made it to a run I had no business being on. Definitely a mistake, getting on that wrong lift. It took me to the very top of Heavenly Valley.  The view--totally worth it, but how to  maneuver myself down the hill without killing myself or someone else? That  presented a problem.  I think If I remember right, I sort of butt-skiied and sort of side-stepped down past the steep bumpy snow. Heading for the lodge to meet Ted, I think he had something to do with that little "adventure."  

We've left the mountain, the cold, the equipment, the exhilaration of navigating down a hill on your boots and skiis, swiftly, smoothly and successfully with our youth. The snow boarders will relish the thought we are not in their way.  

Team Imua 

Gone are the days of outrigger racing. My only athletic requirement?  --Getting the kid and eventually two kids and the dog in the car, down to the race, follow the race, unpack the bunch and cheer on the team. Occasionally, going on the escort boat for longer races required some boating experience--keep the racers hydrated!   Ted, on the other hand, practiced 3 nights a week, ran several miles a day and raced every weekend from April through October for fifteen years.  

Ted in center

Great memories of special friends and trips to Hawaii captured in many photo albums recall those early days of our young married life.  

Then, we coached.  I say we, because you know team mom came into play many times.  

Ted coached little league and soccer. Soccer became a weekend ritual for all three boys. Ted succeeded in coaching and mentoring and my boys and others were blessed by his knowledge and passion.  

Trophys are dusty, medals are packed away in memory boxes.  

Time ticks on. Golf clubs almost outnumber tools in my little garage.  Old ones, used ones, borrowed ones, treasured ones. Someday I'd like to learn, but in the meantime I think Ted and I need a "sport" to enjoy with more time together. We need to fight this ticking clock and keep active.  

How about car racing, tobogganing...

Hang gliding? 

Space exploration or treaure hunting?

Pillaging or looking for honey? 

Check this list out: 

Searching for Nemo or exploring the Mississippi in a paddle boat.

Dancing to the steel drums and following wayward "spirits." 

Archeology and exploration.

Taking a Wild Ride, splashing down a mountain in a log jam. 

Visting Wonderland with a grinning cat, 

or the Wild West with Davy Crockett,  target shooting. 

Bug hunting in 3-D,  

An African Safari!    

So, this is it. Attempting to capture are youth, holding hands while strolling down Main Street, we intend on frequenting Disneyland, becoming card-carrying regulars. It gets me away from social media (not that I have a problem...lol) and Ted away from the remote control. I don't have anything to complain about when I'm at Disneyland and Ted can freely crack his jokes with my full attention.  

Disneyland, a magical place for inspiration, people watching, and child-like laughter that keeps one young. It's a place where love keeps blooming, where fairy tales become real and castles glow in the night sky. It's a place where a hard working, "mature" prince and princess can don Mickey ears and just be silly. 

Fireworks, parades, glorious displays of hope and happiness wait on the other side of the  turnstiles.  Until we get to Heaven, we'll take a little Disney to keep us animated and smiling. Mary Poppins said it best, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." 

Life is an E-Ticket and I want to enjoy it up until God buckles me in for my last ride!  

Besides all that...I think butteflies like to hang out at Disneyland too!  

"Every person has his own ideas of the act of praying for God's guidance, tolerance, and mercy to fulfill his duties and responsibilities. My own concept of prayer is not as a plea for special favors nor as a quick palliation for wrongs knowingly committed. A prayer, it seems to me, implies a promise as well as a request; at the highest level, prayer not only is a supplication for strength and guidance, but also becomes an affirmation of life and thus a reverent praise of God."

WALT DISNEY, Deeds Rather Than Words

Thank you Lord,  for Mr. Disney. 

                                                          When you wish upon a star

                                                       Makes no difference who you are

                                                           Anything your heart desires

                                                                    Will come to you 

Google image

Imagitively yours, Coleene  

Seeds of Harvest

 Jesus walked from city to city, town to town, healing every kind of disease. 

Cancer, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis, Kidney disease, Crohn's disease, ALS, Emphysema, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's,  blindness, hearing loss. 

And every kind of sickness and condition, 

Depression, chronic allergies and asthma, anxiety disorder, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsey.

He looked out over the multitude and he FELT compassion. 

And He knew our need. 

Our need for The Savior.  

He knows the human condition, beyond critical...grave. 

Add to the diseases, homelessness, hunger, clean water, murder, suicide, "active shooters," addiction, abuse, human trafficing, genocide, rape, bullying, gangs, poverty, missing children, earthquakes, typhoons, tornadoes, accidents, wars and rumors of wars. 

Entitlement, arrogance, self-indulgence, anger, hurt, greed, 

Then He said to His disciples, 

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." 

A beautiful pattern of grace grows in each one of us.  We gather that grace and grow it under the sweet rays of love and He nurtures us. 

Behold, that tilting towards Him gave us a miracle of redemption. Plentiful, the seeds of purpose.  

Do we disregard the gift?  Is our beauty only a past memory? Where can the Christ in You be seen?  

His design in nature, a reflecion of His glory.  He calls us to the Harvest.  

Each seed plucked from its comfort zone. 

Layed out and individually touched. 

Looked at with compassion. Loved for a divine purpose. 

Separated from our sin, the chaff disregarded.  

Blown away onto a cross and whisked away with the wind of a rolled away stone. 

What held us so close, what gave us room to grow and develop our passions, also freely lets us go into the earth to further proclaim, bringing the beauty of His grace to another's barren land. In the Body of Christ, we develop our individual calling; for the ground around each of us needs compassion, healing, encouragement.  

Each one unique. No two alike. Black and White. 

Some wait in the gray area. Picked up and scattered afar, separated from what once made a difference, with a hard shell of...whatever...

He heals all the diseases, the sickness...the whatevers...

Return to the Harvest. Plant your "whatevers" deep in the soil of his softening grace and watch what sprouts.  

Where is your passion plot?  Can you feel the autumn winds of Harvest upon your cheeks?  Gather around the barns and begin preparing your heart and possibly the hearts of others to receive the banquet table of the Lord.  

                                                                                                        *

In the Harvest of His Goodness, Coleene  


Matthew 9: 35-38.  


* google image.