Monday, February 21, 2011

The Cat

has finally been allowed to escape the bag!  Do you know how hard it is for five women to keep a secret?  It's not so much that it's a secret, but there were people who needed to hear it from the proper source before we were allowed to blab.  The cat is out.

I don't think I have ever felt so elated and so disappointed at the same time.  When we moved to Arizona seven+ years ago, I dutifully followed my husband's lead (as he was following the Lord's lead) but on the inside, to my shame, I was kicking and screaming.  For a long time I didn't even WANT to like this environment, and I didn't.  Somehow, in the past year or so, I have come to love this valley.  It is harsh, but is beautiful. The power of God is seen everywhere, as are his judgment and his mercy.  I love the feeling of the sun on my bones.  Unless you have been here, you don't know what that is.  The heat goes all the way through your body, and it feels GOOD.  Our church family has been wonderful to us, and we love them dearly.  But I am looking forward to what God is going to do with us now.

When you get a new puppy, you hold him real close until he stops wiggling.  This is to establish the fact that you are the master, and he is the dog, and not the other way around.  When he submits to your hold and relaxes his body, you can put him down.  God is the Master, and I am the puppy.  He picked me up and held me tight.  I stubbornly struggled against his will.  And now that I have humbled myself and decided I like it right here in his will, he has let me go!  But wait!  He has not really let me go.  I am still in his arms.  Psalm 31:14,15  But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand.  He is still holding me, but he is moving me.  As a matter of fact, he is moving my whole family. And he is going with us.

You won't believe it when I tell you where...

Goodbye, mountains.

Goodbye, Diamonds in the Rough.  It won't be so rough where we are going. Not in the same way.  I might need a new blog name.  We are still rough, though, so maybe I will keep it.

Goodbye, quartz hunting.

Goodbye, mountain biking!
Goodbye, north wind. (Not really.  That's wishful thinking.  We'll have lots of north wind in our new home!)

Goodbye, Hoover Dam and Boulder City.

Goodbye, bone-warming sunshine.

Goodbye, beautiful, clean Lake Mohave.

Goodbye, Pacific Ocean!

Goodbye, cactus!

Goodbye, 119 degree days. (Yay!)

Goodbye MBC, friends, violin students, goatheads and dear grandparents... Smith's, Dr. White, Colorado River Homeschoolers, Green River 4-H Club, my hair lady, good neighbors, pigeons, feral cats, coyotes, road-runners, and burros.  


We're getting ready to say HELLO to...


Well, I'll keep you in suspense for a teeny bit.  :)  Here's a hint:


She is not afraid of the snow for her household: 
for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Proverb 31:21


(I know you're going to laugh at us when I tell you... Be nice.)

20 comments:

  1. when you tell! Oh my I am going to be anxious until I find out where you are going. I get the hint but that doesn't help much!

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  2. Lol, your hair lady. I love it. No, I agree, when you have a great hair lady, you hate to give them up. All the good-byes are quite sad, but you aren't gone yet.

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  3. No we aren't gone yet! I'll have to repost this in April. I guess my announcement is a bit early, huh? lol

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  4. Well, since the hint was about snow...I'm pretty sure you aren't coming to my neck of the woods! You won't find any snow in Central Florida!

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  5. Me thinks the blog appearance is drastically going to change here, Sally, Oh Keeper of Secrets!

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  6. Waiting to hear. :)

    JoAnn

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  7. Brrr. Sounds like a chilly place. My husband swears, after doing the research, that Wyoming has the perfect weather. Maybe we'll all end up there someday. ;-)

    Excited for you!

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  8. Maybe you had better ask him for a good definition of "perfect". lol!

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  9. I have a mental picture of your family all dressed in red (scarlet) snow suits. :)

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  10. Oh a move! How exciting!!!!! ( although you know I would love to be where you are) Cannot wait to hear where!

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  11. Well --- we have snow and we are not anywhere near the Pacific Ocean so you must be coming here up north in NH? How dare you leave us all hanging.... You keep a good secret though.

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  12. This is exciting news! I know it won't always be easy, but with the Lord new directions can be so thrilling. I probably will laugh if you say Alaska, as that's about as opposite as you could get from where you are now (with my limited knowledge of US geography!), but it will be great because the Lord is at the heart of it. God bless you (and keep you sane) as you prepare to move!
    Sarah

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  13. Wow, this is big news. Can't wait to hear. I'd guess MN.

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  14. Love your photo review...made me homesick for AZ, especially the sun-in-the-bones description. Could use a little of that right now!

    We're praying for you in this time of transition and upheaval, grace on everything you set your hand to. Hope the change won't mean you're off the blogosphere too long!

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  15. I'll spill the location for money :) > Hee hee..

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  16. Ooooh - Please say Wisconsin !!!!!!

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  17. Wow - moving!

    I have to admit that when I read that I felt my heart squeeze. Odd huh?

    I've always hated the thought of moving.

    But I loved your puppy analogy - that was good, and something for me to learn. I think I've been wiggling a bit too long on some things :(

    But east of the Mississippi -I'm a bit west of there, but still in Minnesota. Maybe there? :)

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  18. Oh My!!! Miss a few days of blogging and you miss the big news. I'm SOOOOO happy for you!!!!! I remember some of our conversations from a couple of years ago... How very blessed we both are. (((hugs)))

    Hmm... I'M east of the Mississippi... here in central Illinois.... coming my way???

    Waiting (im)patiently,
    your friend, Sha xxxx

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