Five Words

I love my blog-friend Quilly's little place of writing. She almost always makes me laugh or think -- and usually both! She is also very insightful and kind with comments. So when Quilly does a new or different meme, it makes me want to do it too. Yesterday she did one that Melly sent her. It's when a friend gives you five words (the friend picks them) and you write about what each one provokes you to write! Everyone gets a different 5 words. So if you want five words, let me know and I'll do the same! Here are the words Quilly sent me, and my responses.

Closet - this makes me think about the closets in our master bedroom. They have the bi-fold doors with a cabinet arrangement between them. It is all built in -- long before we bought this house. I would love to replace the closest doors with sliding shoji screen type doors, but I can't figure out what to do about the cabinet in the middle. Did I mention that the people who owned this house before us really liked color -- and the cabinet is blue? I did repaint the master bedroom and closet doors a few years ago so they are an off-white (it's called bone), but the carpet is still blue...The point here is I am frozen in indecision. I'd love to pull up the carpet and show/use the hardwood floors below, but DH prefers carpet. So I'd love to replace the carpet with something less . . . BLUE, but I have to figure out what to do about the cabinet. Sigh. Are there any decorators out there who make house calls for the price of a good cup of coffee? You can look at my closet contents and cabinet front and immediately fathom that I did NOT get the gene that allows some women to decorate with confidence and aplomb. Sigh.

Restaurant -- I have to say we are richly blessed in the Washington, D.C. area with a plethora of fine restaurants. Just about any type of food you can imagine is available because there are immigrants from every country in the world. Our favorite to dine out on is Thai. And there's the problem. In the past six months, our two favorite Thai restaurants have closed due to rising rents. Various local government authorities are working together to build a light rail system from Tysons Corner out to Dulles Airport so all the landlords along the way now think their property values should skyrocket. In the meantime, they're pricing hole-in-the wall places out of business. We tend to not like the "fancy restaurants". We don't mind pricey; we dislike pretentious. We like to find a place not much more highly evolved than "mom and pop" where we can develop a relationship with the staff. We've tried a couple since the others closed but we're still searching. In the meantime, within 5 miles of my house there are Afghan, Ethiopian, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, French and all other kinds of restaurants. No really good Mexican so we're in search of that too.

Bible -- Lodestone. I love reading the Bible. I didn't always -- it used to seem so stuffy and HARD. When I graduated from law school my favorite pastor gave me a Thompson's Chain Reference Bible. I was very far from the Lord then, and he knew it. He was a friend of my parents' and he and his wife stood in for my parents when they were far away. He told me that even if I didn't accept the truth of the Scriptures, that they were essential for a lawyer to study because their contents undergirded Western civilization. Wow! That was enough to get me into it because I loved the law and the concept of justice. And the more I study the more I see that. And the more the Lord graciously reveals to me about the contents of His library. I'm involved in a non-denominational Bible study called Community Bible Study that has opened the Bible up to me and made it food for thought and soul. Right now we're studying the kings of Israel, the divided kingdom and will also study the minor prophets. Stay tuned!

Strength -- My greatest strength isn't in one particular area. Some people can say, "I am a musician" or "I am a pilot" or "I have great hand-eye coordination." I don't think there's any one area where I can say I SHINE in STRENGTH. I am a little bit good at a lot of things -- so maybe that's my strength; I recognize that I'm not a standout in any one area, so I dabble in a lot of areas and use it to bring people together. As I've matured in my relationship with Christ, He uses that in me to bring people together to hear about Him. And often it is the MOUNDS of useless trivia I've collected in my brain that provides a conversation opener for that to happen.

Weakness -- My greatest weakness is lack of self-control. Whether it's with chocolate, baked goods, or blurting out something without thinking about it first, my desires often outrun my good sense. More, I often hear that nagging little voice in my head that says "NOT A GOOD IDEA" but run on ahead anyway. And my lack of self-control has gotten me into situations that weren't the healthiest. Yet, when I look back over my life at areas where that weakness got really out of control, I also see a pattern of learning, healing and God meeting me where I was, forgiving that lack of self-control (AGAIN) and gently inviting me to do better. I burn fewer bridges these days and I have useful information and guidance for my children whether they want to hear it or not. He uses my weakness to His glory.

Thank you Quilly for the words. I'll probably think about this all day long while I'm at DAY 3 of the Used Book Sale!

/kw