Daily Archives: September 2, 2009

I woke at 1am (EST), which would be 6am London time. Is it easier to lose time or gain time? I’m still not sure.

I lain in bed until 4am trying to force myself to slumber. It didn’t work. Instead I prayed. Mama always said the best way to get to sleep is to pray. Satan would happily put us to sleep rather than allow us to pray. That is the logic anyway. My thoughts scattered too freely to form cohesive prayers, so I don’t think it worked. Though it may have in spurts. All I know is that by 4am I surrendered to reading.

I received Kimberly Stuart’s newest yesterday (Stretch Marks, an autographed copy) and am already loving it. She’s a fabulous writer, another author with whom I would love to be best friends. She’s funny and witty and authentic and … well, fabulous. I’m sure I’ll blog about this book before too long.

I’m hungry. All I ate yesterday was airport food and two scoops from Carvel: Caramel Cone and Pralines and Cream. It was lovely! The ice cream that is, not the airline food.

I learned yesterday that if you request vegetarian meals on eight-hour flights, you get served significantly sooner than everyone else. Your food also smells better and probably tastes better, though I would advise against it if you’re not a fan of Indian food.

I sat next to an Indian fella yesterday. We had a nice talk about Hinduism and the relevance of God in everyday life. We also talked about arranged marriages and parenting and how America, as a nation, does not respect marriage as it ought. This line of thinking parallels with another book I’ve been reading: I’d Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper. Contrary to what the title suggests, this is a great book promoting the value of marriage. More specifically, the book’s purpose is to help readers maintain great marriages even after having kids, a task that is much more difficult than I think anyone expects.

My conversation with my seat-mate was nothing compared to the conversation I had with the taxi driver who took me to the airport yesterday morning. (Time frame: the cab ride started around 2am EST; 7am London time. It’s been a long two days, and yet I am still full of energy! WHY?)

This guy was from Nigeria, but had been living in London for quite a while. Not long after starting our one-hour trek from Canary Wharf to Heathrow, I asked him if people in London generally believe in God. He answered “Of course!” but quickly backtracked to say the whole country belongs to the Church of England, which is truly to say nothing at all of what the people believe. He also added some international details about the immigrants, particularly Hindu monks and African Muslims now residing in a large portion of the city. This catapulted into a fascinating discussion of the differences between Islam and Christianity.

Having lived in Muslim Bosnia for some time, I really enjoy these topics. I love hearing why people believe what they do, especially those who have gone back and forth between religions — such as this man had done. He was raised by a Muslim family, but attended Christian schools. As an adult he was part of a protestant Christian church for twenty years before choosing to return to Islam. I found his story … well, challenging.

The kids start school today. I’m not fully sure of what the day will hold. We have opening ceremonies this morning, and it is Zach’s very first day of school ever. Can you believe my baby is starting school? It feel very surreal. After the kick-off events, I think I have a parent’s breakfast or something. And a social for class moms. I hadn’t planned to be a class mom this year, but it seems to be working out that way. It may be a lot of work, but I look forward to building a solid relationship with Ellie’s teachers. It should be fun. And I’ll get to meet all the parents on a new level. Pretty cool.

I sincerely hope my body finds a normal rhythm soon. I don’t know how many 20-hour days I can stand. (Of course, living at Starbucks would not be the worst life for me.) Today will be another long, full day, but I’m thrilled with my life.

Do you ever have those moments when you know you’re rich? Not materially, necessarily, but in life. My life feels so full … it’s overflowing with tremendous blessings, and I can hardly take it all in. I’m overwhelmed with this grace that continues to rain upon me. Even the busy days, long, sleepless nights and wacky internal clock issues kind of tickle me. They remind me of all I’ve been given — all perfectly without reason or merit. GOD IS GOOD. And I’m thrilled to know Him.