dreaming dreams

"We do not want to merely “see” beauty–though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words–to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it."

~C.S. Lewis

Bobby and I got the chance to spend this last weekend out at the Stitt's cabin for Tyler's birthday. One morning, while everyone else was still in deep slumber, I found myself wide awake and ready to get the day going. Unfortunately it was only 6:30am and I knew I had a good 2 hours before anyone else would be alive so I had to find something to occupy my brain. I chose to dream up some dreams. 

The Portland Marathon is a little less than 2 months away. Completing this race/run has been the one solid goal I've had since last winter and here I am, less than 60 days from the finish! This made me think about more goals and things I'd like to accomplish/see/experience in the upcoming months. I dreamed about Italy and how Bobby and I have always talked about going there someday. Because I have the opportunity to witness friends with their little ones, I know it would be best to get a trip like this out of the way before little ones of our own come along. Could this be done within the next 6-8 months? How awesome would that be?! Then my mind covered the idea of buying our first home. We've discussed a bit of a timeline and right now, we're hoping to find our home within the next year, possibly late spring-early summer of 2012. Ah...all those ideas from Etsy and Pinterest, Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewarts' Living magazines may finally be put to good use! Veggie garden...art room/office...a dog first and hopefully soon thereafter a little quarter asian of our own! ...oh to live the dream!

 Only about 20 minutes worth of dreaming passed when Bobby stirred...I promptly started attacking him with little pokes and "Hey, wakey wakey!" and, "I'm bored...WAKE UP!". He did...but we both just laid there. A few minutes of silence went by and still in my dreamy state I asked, "What are you thinking about?" hoping for an equally dreamy response.

"Stargate." he replies.

Sigh.... "You're such a nerd."

Later that evening I had an advisory board meeting at the Porch. Pastor Dave spoke of Haiti and his dreams for the people of the Porch to come together to support the small town of Godin either financially, prayerfully, physically or all three! If you've asked me lately what a prayer request of mine would be, it would have to do with Haiti. For the last few months, since Justin, pastor of Kaleo Church in Otis Orchards came to our church to speak about Haiti, I've been struck with the thought of being a hands-on person. I've always wanted to 'do a mission trip' but I've always been leery about big organizations and what seemed to me to be a temporary fix, or, band-aid for an area in need. The difference that I see with Dave and Justin and those involved in Godin is that the work being done is to aid in the building of a self-sufficient economy. There are many details to how this is being done and it seems to me that it's more of a "teach a man to fish" kind of thing rather than, "give a man a fish"...which I believe is the better way to go about things. Since 2002, Dave and Justin and a few of their buddies have built actual relationships with the people of Godin and I feel God has put it on my heart to be a part of that somehow. 

So as I laid down to bed that night, I revisited all the dreams I dreamed that day and it hit me that I could have a potentially life changing year coming up and I am super excited! For so long I've watched my friends go on trips, missions, excursions...build homes, businesses and families...and I'm excited and hopeful that our next year will prove fruitful in every way possible.